Two-Month Blackout Hits Calaba Town as Energy Minister Cites Network Challenges
By Kelvin Jay
Residents of Calaba Town and surrounding communities in the Eastern part of Freetown have continued to endure a prolonged electricity blackout that has reportedly lasted for over a month, with some residents describing the situation as approaching two months without stable power supply.
Isatu Kabia, a resident of Jabbie Street in Calaba Town, said the blackout has severely affected daily life in the community. According to her, many residents are unable to keep their phones charged and now spend more than Le8 daily just to charge their devices elsewhere.
Business owners in the area have also raised concerns over the impact of the outage on their livelihoods. Several food vendors explained that the lack of electricity has made it impossible to preserve food items, as freezers and refrigerators remain nonfunctional.
“We used to prepare up to five meals a day and preserve them in our freezers, but this persistent blackout has made that impossible,” one resident lamented.
Speaking on the issue during an interview on Truth Media, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Energy, Cyril Arnold Grant, attributed the blackout affecting those communities to challenges related to the electricity network and the topography of the area.
According to the Minister, many transformers serving the affected communities have become old and overstretched, while rapid population growth has increased pressure on the electricity distribution system, making it difficult for power supply to effectively reach several areas.
He further explained that due to ongoing maintenance work at the Bumbuna Hydroelectric Power Station, the government has engaged Karpowership to increase electricity generation from 45 megawatts to 60 megawatts in an effort to stabilize supply across Freetown, particularly in the eastern communities.
Despite the reported increase in power generation, many residents argued that several eastern communities continue to experience prolonged blackouts. Residents of Peacock Farm in Wellington stated that they have gone several days without electricity since the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority announced the 12-day maintenance shutdown of Bumbuna.
However, Minister Grant maintained that with Karpowership supplying 60 megawatts of electricity, alongside operational generators at Blackhall Road, no community should experience a blackout lasting up to three consecutive days.
