MONROVIA—The Acting Managing Director of the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC), Mohammed Sheriff, has unveiled an aggressive fiscal mechanism aimed at ensuring government ministries and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) pay for the electricity they consume—a move he says is critical to stabilizing Liberia’s power sector and protecting its financial solvency.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Liberian Investigator, FrontPageAfrica and the state-owned ELBC, at LEC headquarters this week, Mr. Sheriff disclosed that his administration is working with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) to create an escrow account specifically to manage electricity payments from government entities. The measure is expected to reverse years of delinquent consumption that has contributed significantly to LEC’s financial distress.
“We are working with the Ministry of Finance to establish an escrow account,” Sheriff said firmly. “So that we will tell the Ministry of Finance on average how much individual ministries consume monthly… If you are to pay for the current, it should be 100% of your current bill. Legacy debt may be 10% of that or so until the legacy bill can be cleared over time. That’s the strategy we are using to handle the debts from the government because they are one of our major consumers.”
The move comes in the wake of a troubling disclosure made in December 2024 by former LEC CEO Monie Captan, who revealed that as of October 31 that year, government ministries and SOEs owed the utility a staggering $18,975,049.
“The Government of Liberia is the largest consumer of the electricity supplied by LEC, which accounts for approximately 14% of all energy sold,” Captan stated then. “Currently, the government is indebted to LEC in the amount of $18,975,049.”
Captan noted that the LEC Board of Directors and senior management had engaged both the Ministry of Mines and Energy and MFDP to ensure that, beginning 2025, budgetary allocations would reflect the electricity costs of individual ministries through a prepaid metering system.
Sheriff is now picking up where Captan left off—but with a more systematized approach. He explained that rather than leaving the burden of collection to LEC, the new plan would empower MFDP to directly deposit allocated electricity funds for each ministry into a centralized escrow account, which LEC would then access.
“That way, we don’t have to chase individual ministries,” Sheriff said. “The Ministry of Finance will pay directly into that escrow account, and LEC will be able to collect payments for energy supplied without delay or confusion.”
He emphasized that LEC will monitor ministries’ consumption and set average monthly caps. “Say Ministry of Public Works consumes on average ten thousand dollars monthly,” he explained. “We set that cap and monitor it. If any ministry performs very well, consumes below the cap, they get rewarded. If they exceed, we flag it.”
He stressed that a lack of financial discipline among government institutions has historically undermined the utility’s ability to maintain and expand operations. “Sometimes ministries and agencies leave their ACs on overnight,” he said, referencing careless electricity use. “The head of the entity must ensure that by 5 p.m., the lights and ACs are turned off. This is public money.”
No More Excuses: You Use, You Pay
Sheriff made it clear that there would be no more free rides under his watch. “If you are consuming, you must pay,” he said. “We are importing power now. If we don’t pay for it, the suppliers cut us off, and stability drops. It’s not a technical issue—it’s a financial one.”
According to Sheriff, LEC recently paid $500,000 to TRANSCO CLSG and $4.5 million to Côte d’Ivoire’s CI-Energies for imported electricity. These payments, he stressed, were made possible only through prudent financial management.
“You pay, they trust you. You ask for more power, they give it,” he said. “But we can only do that with support from the public, from routine employees, and especially from the government itself.”
Fighting Power Theft from Within
While securing payments from government agencies is one of LEC’s fiscal priorities, Sheriff says the war on power theft is just as critical—and that the utility is now turning inward to clean house.
“There are people within LEC leaking information to communities before enforcement teams arrive,” Sheriff acknowledged. “But we are bringing intelligence in. We will not disclose our methods, but I can assure you we are succeeding.”
He disclosed that LEC has developed a digital surveillance strategy that includes geospatial mapping of customers and unique meter identification, enabling the corporation to detect suspicious usage patterns.
“We can sit on our dashboard and see that your house has power, but your meter unit isn’t moving. That means you’re stealing. And we will come for you.”
He warned that electricity theft is a felony under Liberian law. “If you know any LEC employee who’s aiding theft, report them. We will deal with them according to the law. You see something? Say something.”
A Vision for National Access and Affordability
Sheriff, who previously served as General Manager of TRANSCO CLSG, says Liberia must leverage its 525 kilometers of high-voltage transmission backbone to expand access beyond Monrovia. “We are blessed,” he said. “The person who led that CLSG project is me—and now I’m here to connect the rest of the country.”
Substations in Yekepa, Botota, Mount Coffee, Mano, and Buchanan will serve as anchors to expand the grid to underserved regions, including Nimba, Lofa, Grand Bassa, and Cape Mount.
“We are working with the Ministry of Mines & Energy to finalize the national master plan,” he said. “In Washington, during the Spring Meetings, we pitched this plan to our international partners and received encouraging responses.”
Meanwhile, immediate connections are being carried out under the World Bank-funded Liberia Accelerated Electricity Expansion Project (LACEEP). “If you go to Brewerville and Virginia, you’ll see massive connections happening already,” he noted.
Tariff Reduction in Sight—but Only Through Responsibility
On the long-standing public grievance of high electricity tariffs, Sheriff explained that Liberia’s current reliance on imported fossil-fuel-based energy is driving costs.
“If we were using purely hydropower, it would be cheaper. Fossil fuel is the most expensive. So, we are working on our energy mix,” he said. “The Genser [Energy] project will bring in 270 megawatts of gas-based power. Once that comes online, the tariff could drop by as much as 30 percent.”
He added that affordability is central to LEC’s mission. “Our strategy is: fast nickel is better than slow dime. Bring in more affordable power sources, increase the volume, and the price drops for everyone.”
Public Awareness, Ownership, and Education
According to Mr. Sheriff, infrastructure is only one side of the equation. “Public behavior must change,” he said. “People must manage their electricity. Turn off appliances when leaving the house. Don’t overload transformers.”
LEC is rolling out a new communications strategy focused on public education through radio, social media, and community engagement.
“We are making communities feel ownership over their power assets. If your transformer gets overloaded because your neighbor is stealing current, you all suffer. So let’s work together.”
Passion Over Paycheck: Why Sheriff Returned
Asked why he left a prestigious and lucrative regional role at CLSG to return to LEC, Sheriff was heartfelt in his response.
“There’s no place like home,” he said. “I’m earning almost 50% less here. But when I go to Ghana or Benin and see stable electricity, I ask myself—why not Liberia? I came back to help. I will consider myself successful when the average Liberian smiles and says, ‘Thank you. We now have reliable power.’”
He added, “We cannot do it alone. If the public helps stop the theft and pays their bills, we won’t need handouts from the central government. We’ll be sustainable on our own.”
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