The Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority has warned residents and businesses across three of Sierra Leone’s most populous cities to prepare for significant disruption to electricity supply, after confirming a twelve-day shutdown of the Bumbuna Hydroelectric Power Plant beginning on Monday, May 18, 2026.
In a press release dated Tuesday, May 12 and signed by Management, EDSA working in collaboration with the Electricity Generation and Transmission Company announced that routine annual maintenance on the Bumbuna plant and its associated 161kV transmission line will commence at 1:00 AM on Monday, May 18, and run through to 6:00 PM on Friday, May 29. Full restoration of Bumbuna generation is expected on Saturday, May 30.
The shutdown will directly affect electricity supply to Freetown, Makeni, and Magburaka.
The significance of the announcement cannot be separated from what Bumbuna represents to Sierra Leone’s fragile power infrastructure. Located on the Seli River in Tonkolili District, the plant has an installed capacity of 50 megawatts and has been the country’s primary electricity source since its commissioning in November 2009, at a construction cost of $327 million. The existing 50MW Bumbuna dam constitutes approximately 80 percent of grid-connected power in Sierra Leone, making its temporary absence not a minor inconvenience but a structural stress test of whatever backup capacity the country can mobilise.
Sierra Leone has less than 100 megawatts of operational generation capacity for a population of more than 8.6 million people, and for communities in Freetown, Makeni, and Magburaka which already endure erratic supply under normal conditions the coming twelve days will demand considerable patience.
The authority says it has not come to the public empty-handed. To cushion the impact of the shutdown, EDSA and EGTC will operate thermal diesel generators across the three affected cities throughout the maintenance window. Independent Power Producers specifically Karpower and Planet Solar have also been called upon to increase their generation output to help offset the gap left by Bumbuna’s temporary withdrawal from the national grid.
EDSA has further committed to publishing a detailed load-management schedule for all affected areas by Friday, May 15 giving residents a three-day notice window before the shutdown begins. Consumers can access real-time updates and report faults through EDSA’s 24-hour toll-free line on 672 or via the Chatbot on 075672672.
The timing of the shutdown during the peak dry season is deliberate. As EDSA explained in its statement, conducting preventive maintenance when the plant’s water-dependent production is at its seasonal minimum limits the disruption to generation that would occur if the same work were deferred to the wet season, when Bumbuna operates closer to full capacity. The authority framed the exercise as a compliance requirement under international safety and engineering standards, designed to preserve the long-term efficiency, reliability, and sustainability of both the facility and its transmission network.
A 200-kilometre 161kV transmission line connects Bumbuna to Freetown, and it is this same line along with the plant itself that will go offline during the maintenance window. Its integrity is central to whatever electricity reaches the capital, making its upkeep a matter not just of technical necessity but of national interest.
The announcement lands in a context that Sierra Leoneans know well. The country has an electrification rate of just 26.2 percent, one of the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, and the communities that do have grid access have long lived with the knowledge that supply is conditional, fragile, and dependent on infrastructure that was built to its limits before the first consumer was ever connected.
Households, businesses, hospitals, schools, and market traders across Freetown will now need to plan accordingly. For those without generators or solar alternatives the majority of urban residents the next twelve days represent a stark reminder of how thin the margin remains between the electricity Sierra Leone has and the electricity its population needs.
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EDSA appealed to the public for patience and understanding, reaffirming the Authority’s commitment to delivering stable, reliable, and sustainable electricity supply upon restoration.
The full load-management schedule is expected before the weekend.
