SEGESA (stands for ''Sociedad de Electricidad de Guinea Ecuatorial'') is the national

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...

company of Equatorial Guinea, with its head offices in

Malabo Malabo ( , ; formerly Santa Isabel) is the capital of Equatorial Guinea and the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko, ( bvb, Etulá, and as ''Fernando Pó'' by the Europeans). In 2018, the city had ...

, Equatorial Guinea. It is the sole operator of the electricity sector of Equatorial Guinea. The company was created in November 2001 by a merger of the national

rural electrification Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. Rural communities are suffering from colossal market failures as the national grids fall short of their demand for electricity. As of 2017, over 1 billi ...

company SONER and the national electricity corporation ENERGE. In 2013 the company was reorganized into three units: SEGESA Comercial for distribution and sales, SEGESA Generación for generation activities and SEGESA Transmisión for transmission. The three units are overseen by SEGESA Holding. Equatorial Guinea has two main electricity systems, for Bioko Island, and for the continental Rio Muni region. SEGESA has 730 employees across the three business units in Malabo for the Bioko system, and 823 employees in Bata and the continental region. The primary lawmaking body for national electricity policy in Equatorial Guinea is the Ministry of Industry and Energy. The Ministry is responsible for regulation and compliance in the sector. Specific laws that deal with power sector management, tariffs and operations were passed in 2002 and 2005. Private companies wishing to invest in the sector must obtain licenses from the Ministry and can enter partnerships with SEGESA.

Institutional Framework

The institutional framework for the power sector in Equatorial Guinea has a vertical structure. The Ministry of Industry and Energy defines the strategy for the power company (guided by the government's

Horizon 2020 The Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, also called Framework Programmes or abbreviated FP1 to FP9, are funding programmes created by the European Union/European Commission to support and foster research in the Europea ...

diversification plan). The ministry administers and assigns financing for projects and hands them over to SEGESA for implementation through its three business units. SEGESA organigrama

Organization chart of the Power Sector

Over the last decade, SEGESA and the government have implemented a range of generation, transmission and distribution projects to ensure that the country no longer suffers power outages. The power grid in Equatorial Guinea is divided in two parts: the island grid (Malabo, Bioko Island) and the continental grid (Bata, Rio Muni). The high voltage power grid in the Rio Muni region has allowed the government to invest in interconnection points with Gabon and Cameroon.

Supply and demand in Equatorial Guinea

Bioko Island

The Bioko grid is powered by the Malabo Turbogas gas-fired power plant at Punta Europa (near Malabo) with 154.2 MW capacity. It has eight turbines: 3 x 42 MW, 2 x 10 MW, 2 x 5.2 MW and a 4 MW turbine. These supply the city of Malabo and Bioko Island via 33 kW and 66 kW transmission lines. In addition to the Punta Europa gas complex, the island has the SEMU power station that has 7.2 MW capacity (4 x 1.8 MW), the hydroelectric station at

Riaba Riaba is a town in Equatorial Guinea. It is also the 30th largest settlement in the country. It was founded in 1779 under the name of Concepción by the frigate lieutenant Guillermo Carboner. It was reestablished by the British in 1821. Location ...

at 3 MW (2 x 1.5 MW) and the hydroelectric station at Musola. The latter two are out of service. The demand for energy on Bioko Island in 2016 was about 79 MW (7% more than the previous year’s demand). The current oversupply of electricity on the island facilitates development.

Rio Muni

The continental Rio Muni area of the country has a high-voltage grid of 220 kW, one of 110 kW and one of 20 kW, all of which are connected to the

Djibloho Dam The Djibloho Dam is a gravity dam on the Wele River near Djibloho in Wele-Nzas Wele-Nzas Province is a province in the eastern portion of continental Equatorial Guinea. Its capital is Mongomo. It borders the Equatoguinean provinces of Centro ...

. The power plants that supply the continental region are: Djibloho hydroelectric dam at 120 MW (4 x 30 MW), the Bata diesel/fuel oil fired power plant at 24 MW (3 x 8 MW), the 'Socorro' battery storage power plant (2 x 16.4 MW), a Cummins Group thermal plant (2 x 1 MW) and the Bikomo hydro plant, which is in the process of being restored (8 x 800 kVa) Power demand in the continental area is around 65 MW and power capacity is equal to that of the insular region, meaning that it exceeds demand. In the dry season electricity production at the Djibloho plant is reduced and SEGESA is forced to cut supply. For this reason, a dam is needed to improve water flow to the Djibloho dam and increase the power of the plant. New power plant projects are underway to increase electricity availability and Equatorial Guinea has built the interconnection points that would allow it to export power to

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

and Cameroon from Ebibeyín (220 kW) and

Mongomo Mongomo is a town in the province of Wele-Nzas on mainland Equatorial Guinea, on the eastern border, roughly 1 km (0.62 mi) west of Gabon's Woleu-Ntem Province. Religion Its cathedral basilica of the Immaculate Conception is the epi ...

, which is 50 km from the Gabonese city of

Oyem Oyem is the capital of Woleu-Ntem province in northern Gabon, lying on the N2 road and the River Ntem. Geography The town lies on a plateau at an elevation of about . It is the administrative and transport center for the surrounding agricultur ...

Ongoing and future projects

Equatorial Guinea continues to invest heavily in the production and distribution of energy. The following power projects are scheduled: Construction of the Sendje 200 MW hydro plant (4 x 50 MW) – 2017, Construction of the Djibloho dam with two turbines of 42.5 MW - 2016, rehabilitation of Riaba Musola 1 and 2 and Bikomo hydro plants, Bata thermal plant conversion from diesel to gas, a natural gas storage area and Annobon solar micro-grid.

References

{{Authority control Electric power companies of Equatorial Guinea Malabo