Energy Minister Poise To Embark On House-To-House Search

As a way to address electricity theft, the Minister of Energy, Alhaji Kanja Sesay, has said that his ministry will use the non-traditional approach in the fight against energy and electricity theft, and anti-social behavior in the country. The Minister made this disclosure during a press conference on Monday 22nd January 2024, at the Electricity House in Freetown. He said they will start naming and shaming customers, whether small or big, as well as hotels and factories.

According to the minister, his ministry will be more aggressive than before and will be paying unannounced visits and going on a massive disconnection drive, irrespective of status.

He furthered that several steps have been taken in the past to help fight against those obstructing and destroying electricity supplies, but they have all gone nowhere, causing huge technical and commercial losses.

“The illegal abstraction of power, which we have been talking about a decade ago, became a serious issue when it attracted the attention of President Julius Maada Bio, who decided to set up a special Presidential task force and a Special Court to address electricity theft, but the problem still persists” he explained.

The minister rendered his ministry’s frustration over the issue and appealed to all to join in the fight, emphasizing on the actions that will be taken against anyone found guilty.

The Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA), in a recent public notice, reminded the public that any form of electricity interference leading to abstraction and non-payment of electricity bills is a violation of the National Electricity Act of 2011.

It stated that as illegal abstraction of electricity continues to be a menace that negatively impacts the Authority’s ability to provide reliable and sustainable power to its valued customers, the authority will continue its nationwide routine exercise of monitoring and inspecting premises and business houses, with the aim of checking the appropriateness of the electricity installation to combat this menace.

The Authority is advising and encouraging all its valued customers to stop all forms of illegal abstraction or electricity theft with immediate effect and report all suspected cases of illegal abstraction or electricity theft to EDSA on 672 or 079695104.