Guinea-Bissau has plugged into a regional power grid shared with its neighbours. The new hydropower link is expected to end chronic blackouts in the capital and energise the fragile nation’s economy.
Guinea-Bissau has achieved a milestone in its quest for reliable electricity: on 25 April 2025, the small West African nation connected its grid to a regional power network spanning four countries. The new connection links Guinea-Bissau’s capital, Bissau, to a cross-border supply of hydroelectricity shared with Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea. Officials say this influx of power will finally eliminate the chronic power cuts that have plagued Bissau’s roughly half-million residents. President Umaro Sissoco Embaló heralded the switch-on as a turning point, noting that the additional supply can fully meet the capital’s demand and bring an end to the regular blackouts. The ceremony at Bissau’s new high-voltage substation – attended by regional dignitaries including Gambia’s President Adama Barrow – marked a rare positive moment for a country better known for its political instability and poverty.
By plugging into the sub-regional grid, Guinea-Bissau is effectively “lighting up” with renewable energy from its neighbours. The development is expected to boost the economy of one of the world’s poorest nations by powering businesses, schools and hospitals that previously struggled with outages. It also symbolizes a broader trend in West Africa: increased regional cooperation to tackle infrastructure challenges. This article examines how the new grid link was achieved, the technical and economic implications for Guinea-Bissau, and the challenges that remain in delivering power to all of its people.
A Regional Solution to Power Shortages
The breakthrough in Guinea-Bissau’s electricity supply comes as part of a larger West African project to integrate national power systems. At the heart of this effort is the Organisation for the Development of the Gambia River (OMVG) – a partnership of Guinea, Gambia, Senegal and Guinea-Bissau focused on sharing the Gambia River’s energy potential. In 2015, the OMVG nations, with support from international lenders, embarked on an ambitious plan to interconnect their grids and share electricity across borders. The resulting infrastructure project, costing around $700 million and co-financed by the World Bank and other development banks, has created a 1,600‑kilometre transmission loop linking all four countries. This high-voltage loop includes 15 substations – nodes that step down and distribute power locally – one of which is the new Antula substation on the outskirts of Bissau.
By interconnecting their networks, the OMVG countries gain access to each other’s power generation resources. The regional grid allows electricity to flow wherever there is demand, enabling power trade among the members. For example, Senegal can import surplus power from Guinea’s hydro dams, or vice versa, depending on need. This strategy improves energy security and efficiency by pooling resources: countries with excess generation can sell power to those facing shortages, and all four can benefit from the most cost-effective energy available. The OMVG project’s goals include lowering electricity costs and expanding access across the sub-region, especially via renewable energy. It also represents a step forward in realising the broader West African Power Pool – an initiative to connect the grids of 14 countries in the region. With Guinea-Bissau now linked in, a major gap in that network has been closed.
Guinea-Bissau’s Electricity Struggles
For Guinea-Bissau, one of Africa’s most fragile states, the regional grid connection comes after decades of chronic power shortages at home. The country’s national utility (EAGB) has long been ill-equipped – financially and technically – to provide stable electricity. Access to electricity in Guinea-Bissau is among the lowest in the world. Until recently, only about one-third of the population had any electricity at all, mostly concentrated in the capital. In rural areas, the vast majority of people live off-grid, relying on candles or generators if they can afford them. Even in Bissau, power supply was notoriously unreliable: residents endured frequent blackouts as demand outstripped the meagre generation capacity available.
Before the new interconnection, Bissau’s power demand of roughly 30 MW was barely being met by makeshift solutions. An aging oil-fired thermal plant in Bissau could generate about half of that load on a good day. To supplement it, the government had resorted to leasing a floating power station – essentially a ship-mounted generator moored in the port and run by an international energy contractor from Turkey. This “power ship” supplied the other half of Bissau’s electricity for several years, but at high cost and with limited output. Even with both sources combined, rolling outages were common, forcing businesses to run private diesel generators and households to cope with hours of darkness. The situation worsened when the Turkish power ship halted production in January 2025, anticipating that the new OMVG supply would soon come online. In the interim, the capital was plunged into especially severe power cuts, underlining how desperately Guinea-Bissau needed a more sustainable solution.
The impacts of these energy deficits have been profound. Without reliable electricity, economic activity in Guinea-Bissau has been stunted – factories and workshops cannot operate continuously, and investment is deterred by the cost of running generators. Public services also suffered: hospitals have at times struggled to keep lights and essential equipment on, and schools often had no electric lighting or fans. The persistent lack of development in infrastructure like power has contributed to Guinea-Bissau’s instability. The country has seen repeated coups and is known as a hub for narcotics trafficking, in part because weak state institutions and impoverished communities create fertile ground for illicit activities. Restoring something as basic as electricity will not by itself cure these ills, but it is seen as a crucial foundation for improving governance and quality of life.
Hydropower from the Kaleta Dam
Guinea-Bissau’s new lifeline comes from a hydroelectric dam hundreds of kilometres away in the highlands of Guinea. The Kaleta Dam, built on a tributary of the Gambia River in Guinea, was completed in 2015 as a flagship OMVG project. It has an installed capacity of 240 MW and is powered by the river’s flow – which means its output is seasonal, peaking in the rainy season and shrinking to around 30 MW in the driest months. Until now, Guinea’s neighbours had no access to this clean energy resource. Over the past few years, however, OMVG partners worked to construct transmission lines to share Kaleta’s power. Senegal and The Gambia were connected earlier, and in April 2025 it was Guinea-Bissau’s turn to tap in.
A high-voltage power line now links Kaleta’s power station to Bissau, delivering electricity to the new Antula substation in the capital region. From there, distribution transformers feed it into Bissau’s local grid to light up homes and businesses. Under the agreed framework, Guinea-Bissau can draw up to 80 MW from the line – far more than the capital’s current requirements, ensuring plenty of margin for growth or backup. In practice, actual supply will vary with conditions: during the wet season, when Kaleta produces a surplus, Bissau can take what it needs (and potentially import from Senegal’s grid as well if needed). In dry months, when the dam’s output is very low, the regional grid allows power to be rerouted from other sources – for example, Senegal’s network, which is interconnected, could send some power to Bissau if Guinea’s contribution wanes. This flexibility is a key advantage of the integrated system: no single power plant is solely responsible for keeping Bissau’s lights on.
The technical integration required careful planning. Synchronising Guinea-Bissau’s tiny, fragile grid with the larger West African system meant upgrading infrastructure and training personnel. The Antula substation – inaugurated at the April ceremony – is a critical piece, equipped with modern control systems to manage power flows and protect against surges or outages cascading across borders. Its completion was a prerequisite for energising the line to Kaleta. The OMVG project also included fibre-optic communication links along the power lines, allowing real-time monitoring and coordination between the countries’ grid operators. Now that these links are live, Guinea-Bissau has effectively joined a wider regional network. In fact, with the Kaleta supply coming online, the capital transitioned virtually overnight from running on 100% oil-fueled generation to nearly 100% renewable hydropower. This dramatic shift immediately cuts the city’s fuel consumption and pollution, and is expected to stabilise voltage and frequency issues that plagued the isolated Bissau grid.
Clean Energy and Economic Impact
The switch to hydropower via the regional grid brings multiple benefits for Guinea-Bissau. First and foremost, it is a source of clean, renewable energy. In contrast to the noisy diesel plant and ship that burned heavy fuel oil, the imported electricity from Kaleta is generated without emitting greenhouse gases or local air pollutants. This will noticeably improve air quality in Bissau (previously fumes from diesel generators were common) and contribute to Guinea-Bissau’s climate goals by reducing reliance on fossil fuels. The cost of power is also expected to drop. Hydroelectricity from a large dam is generally much cheaper per kilowatt-hour than the expensive imported fuel that Guinea-Bissau was burning for years. Lower energy costs could help the national utility reduce its debts and potentially enable more affordable tariffs for consumers and businesses over time.
Reliable power, if maintained, could jump-start economic activity in the country. Businesses in Bissau will be able to operate with far fewer interruptions and without the high overhead of running private generators. This improvement in the business climate may encourage investment in industries like agro-processing, fishing, and light manufacturing, which have been held back by infrastructure gaps. Even the small informal businesses – from tailors to Internet cafes – stand to gain as they can now serve customers consistently. Public institutions too will see gains: clinics can keep vaccines cold and equipment running; schools can have lighting and computers; government offices can function without downtime. In a broader sense, bringing stable electricity to the capital is expected to enhance quality of life – from allowing students to study under electric light at night, to reducing crime in once-dark neighbourhoods with new street lighting.
The regional aspect of this power supply also fosters greater political and economic ties between Guinea-Bissau and its neighbours. The fact that a portion of Guinea’s hydropower is keeping Bissau lit is a tangible example of regional solidarity. It binds Guinea-Bissau into multilateral agreements (such as power purchase contracts and grid codes) that encourage cooperation over conflict. This could have a stabilising influence in the long run, showing the benefits of integration. Moreover, by sharing clean energy, the countries collectively move towards more sustainable development. The OMVG grid can also be a platform for future renewable projects – for instance, if Senegal develops a new solar or wind farm, or if Gambia produces excess power, these too could be fed into the network and delivered to Bissau. In fact, Guinea-Bissau itself is now planning to develop domestic renewable energy to complement the imported power. With support from the World Bank and other partners, it has begun work on a 30 MW solar photovoltaic plant near Bissau, complete with battery storage, to further bolster the capital’s supply and diversify energy sources. Over time, such projects could allow Guinea-Bissau not only to consume, but possibly to export some power within the regional system, especially during daylight hours when solar output is high.
Challenges and Future Outlook
While the new interconnection is a game-changer for Bissau, significant challenges remain for Guinea-Bissau to truly solve its nationwide energy poverty. For now, the benefits of the regional grid are mostly confined to the capital and immediate surroundings, where the infrastructure exists to distribute the power coming into the Antula substation. However, vast swathes of the country still lack transmission lines or local grids to deliver electricity. Extending the grid beyond Bissau will require substantial investment in poles, wires, transformers and maintenance capacity – essentially building out electrification to provincial towns and villages that have never had it. The government has stated ambitions to improve rural electrification, including installing solar-powered mini-grids on remote islands and communities, but progress has been slow. Ensuring that the current boost in supply translates into broader access will be a major test for policymakers. They will need to prioritise projects that connect more of the population to this new source of power, whether through grid extension or decentralised solutions.
Another challenge is the seasonal nature of hydropower and Guinea-Bissau’s heavy dependence on it now. The Kaleta dam’s output will dwindle in the dry season, which typically runs from November through May. During those months, the country might once again face shortfalls if alternative sources are not available. The whole idea of the OMVG network is to mitigate that – for instance, Senegal (which has a more diversified energy mix including natural gas and solar) could export some electricity to Guinea-Bissau when the hydro generation is low. But such balancing acts require careful coordination and the assumption that neighbours have surplus to share. In drought years, even hydropower can be unreliable. To avoid swapping one form of vulnerability for another, Guinea-Bissau will likely need to maintain some backup generation capacity of its own. This could mean keeping a few diesel generators for emergencies, or better, rapidly developing its renewable capacity like the planned solar farm and perhaps wind or biomass projects. The upcoming Sambangalou Dam – a new 128 MW hydropower station under construction upstream on the Gambia River in Senegal – will, when finished in a few years, add another major source of renewable energy to the OMVG pool. That should improve dry-season supply and resilience for all member countries, including Guinea-Bissau.
Sustaining the gains from this project will also depend on institutional factors. Guinea-Bissau’s history of political upheaval raises concerns about the long-term management of its power sector. The national utility will need reforms and sound management to handle the now larger and more complex grid system. Tariff structures may need adjustment to ensure revenue for maintenance while keeping electricity affordable. There is also the critical matter of governance and security: the regional grid infrastructure must be protected from vandalism or instability. In some countries, cross-border power lines have at times been damaged during conflicts or civil unrest. Guinea-Bissau will have to ensure that its internal turbulence does not disrupt the operation of the network that so many people now rely on. On a positive note, being part of a regional framework could actually impart some stability – the country has a strong incentive not to let the lights go out again, as that would mean breaking commitments with neighbours and disappointing its populace.
Despite these challenges, the outlook is considerably brighter than before. International partners remain engaged in Guinea-Bissau’s energy development, as evidenced by grants for solar projects and ongoing technical assistance. Neighbouring countries likewise have a stake in seeing Guinea-Bissau stable and powered, since regional integration makes each country somewhat dependent on the others’ well-being. For Guinea-Bissau’s citizens, the immediate concern is much simpler: they want the electricity to stay on. After years of unreliable service, there may be some skepticism until the new system proves itself over time. Consistent delivery of power over the coming months and years – through rainy seasons and dry seasons alike – will gradually build public confidence. It will also demonstrate that clean energy cooperation can tangibly improve daily life even in one of West Africa’s most troubled corners.
Conclusion
The connection of Guinea-Bissau to the West African regional power grid is a landmark achievement for a country that has long been left in the dark. It shows how regional cooperation and infrastructure investment can directly address fundamental challenges like energy access. In Guinea-Bissau’s case, tapping into a shared hydroelectric resource has quickly alleviated an acute electricity deficit, bringing immediate relief to the capital’s residents and businesses. The lights illuminating Bissau’s streets at night now signal a new chapter: one where the city is powered by renewable energy flowing from beyond its borders.
This progress, however, is just the first step. To capitalise on the opportunity, Guinea-Bissau must push ahead with strengthening its domestic grid, diversifying energy sources, and improving governance in the power sector. Neighbouring nations and international financiers have played a crucial role in enabling this start, and their continued support will be important as the country works to extend the benefits of electrification to all its citizens. There is cautious optimism that a more electrified Guinea-Bissau could foster economic revival and greater stability, chipping away at the conditions that have made it vulnerable to poverty and illicit trade.
In a broader sense, Guinea-Bissau’s electrification journey underscores the importance of regional integration in Africa’s development – pooling resources and working together for mutual gain. For now, the immediate impact is clear in Bissau: fans hum in homes that used to swelter in darkness, shops stay open later under bright lights, and the thrum of diesel generators is fading into memory. A nation long defined by turmoil and deprivation is, quite literally, seeing hope in a new light.
