By Jensen Brian Abass Cummings

Keeping Freetown Bright – Bio’s Government and the Karpowership

In the ever-turbulent saga of Sierra Leone’s power supply, few stories stand out like that of the Karpowership — the giant floating power plant that has been a lifeline for Freetown’s lights over the past few years. While the country’s chronic energy crisis is no news, what is new is how the current government, under President Julius Maada Bio, seems to have turned what was once a shaky dependency into an advantageous deal that is paying dividends for the Energy Ministry, the administration, and, most importantly, the people of Freetown.

The Backstory: Why Karpowership Became a Lifeline
Sierra Leone’s electricity sector has long struggled with inadequate generation, obsolete infrastructure, and insufficient investments. Hydropower from Bumbuna has always been unreliable due to seasonal rainfall patterns, while thermal plants have been plagued by high fuel costs and poor maintenance.

Enter Karpowership — a Turkish company that provides electricity by docking massive ships equipped with power generation capacity directly off the coast. In 2018, the then-new Bio administration inherited a Karpowership contract signed under the previous government as an emergency measure to keep Freetown’s lights on.

Yet, the reliance on this floating powerhouse has not been without controversy. High operating costs, allegations of opaque agreements, and periodic breakdowns raised questions. In early 2023, for example, a dispute over unpaid arrears led to a power cut when Karpowership threatened to shut down supply — throwing parts of Freetown back into darkness and reminding everyone just how fragile the arrangement was.

Negotiating From a Position of Strength
But the Bio administration, learning from these episodes, turned the tables. Unlike before, Sierra Leone now found itself with a bargaining chip: Bumbuna hydropower generation was stabilizing, smaller thermal plants were being refurbished, and there was an uptick in independent power producers interested in the national grid.

In the wider West African context, demand for Karpowership’s floating plants has become less acute. Countries like Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Senegal have made strides in diversifying their energy mix with gas, renewables, and local plants. This regional decline in urgency meant Karpowership could not easily redeploy its vessel from Sierra Leone without risking idle capacity — a costly scenario for the Turkish giant.

It is precisely this leverage the Bio administration exploited. By renegotiating the contract, the government reportedly secured a better tariff rate, insisted on more flexible payment terms, and worked out an arrangement to gradually reduce dependency on the ship while boosting local generation from Bumbuna and thermal plants.

Cutting Back — But Keeping the Lights On
Recently, the government announced a reduction in the megawatts supplied by Karpowership, while domestic sources like Bumbuna II, thermal stations, and new solar initiatives have been ramped up. On paper, this is a risky balancing act — but so far, it has largely worked. Many parts of Freetown that once faced frustrating blackouts are enjoying more stable supply.

While the system is not perfect — voltage fluctuations and local outages persist — the relative stability shows that the Ministry of Energy’s strategy of diversifying supply and negotiating smarter contracts is yielding results.

A Win for Bio, the Ministry, and Freetown
Sceptics will argue that the ultimate goal must be to end the dependency altogether and invest in robust, local, renewable solutions. And they are right. But in the context of Sierra Leone’s historic energy challenges, scoring a deal that saves money, reduces risk, and keeps the lights on is no small feat.

The Bio government leveraged regional market realities to get a better bargain from Karpowership — a company that, truth be told, has fewer desperate buyers in West Africa these days. For once, Sierra Leone negotiated from a position of strength, not desperation.

So, while much remains to be done to build a truly sustainable energy future — from Bumbuna expansion to solar farms and grid upgrades — this new Karpowership deal represents an undeniable bright spot.

For Freetown residents who can charge their phones, keep their fridges running, and turn on a fan during these humid nights that is more than just a headline— it is a real win.

Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Wednesday,16th July, 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)