NAWEC: Ramadan Load Shedding Announced as Country Pushes for Universal Electricity Access

NAWEC Least Cost Power Development Plan

By Edward Francis Dalliah, Jr.

The National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) has announced the implementation of “minimal load shedding” across parts of the country due to exceptionally high electricity demand during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Christian Lenten season, a development that has renewed concerns about The Gambia’s limited electricity generation capacity amid the government’s push for universal access by the end of 2026.

In a statement published on its official Facebook page on 23rd February 2026, NAWEC stated, "Due to exceptionally high electricity demand during the Ramadan and Lenten seasons, minimal load shedding will be implemented to maintain system stability.”

While such announcements are not new, as the company has historically engaged in load shedding during peak demand periods, the latest development raises fresh questions about the feasibility of achieving universal electricity access when overall supply remains constrained.

Commenting on the issue in an article published by Askanwi Media, economist and politician Dr Ousman Gajigo argued that the load shedding announcement exposes what he described as the government’s “politics of electricity”, prioritising expansion and distribution networks at the expense of strengthening generation capacity.

Using a water supply analogy, Dr Gajigo explained, “If you want to make sure people have access to water, you should be drilling boreholes first or building water treatment plants first instead of putting pipes and taps into every compound when there is no borehole. That is what the government is doing with electricity right now. They are expanding distribution — connecting villages and towns all over the country — but they did not address where the electricity is coming from.”

He further warned: “Everybody knows we don’t have enough electricity in this country. Before you add more households and create a massive overload, you need to make sure you have enough power generation.” In a previous opinion piece published by Askanwi last year, Dr Gajigo emphasised that meaningful progress in the energy sector requires adequate production capacity. “Before a country can achieve anything with regard to energy services, it must have the capacity. The relevant capacity in this case is energy generation capacity as measured in megawatts (MW),” he wrote.

He pointed out that The Gambia’s electricity generation capacity is significantly less than 100 MW. The Turkish company (Karpowership) that is selling electricity to the country from an anchored ship is providing 30 MW. The country also has a purchase facility of 50 MW with Senegal.

As of 2025, the country’s capacity was 41 MW with a peak demand of 180 MW. The data includes the supply of Karpower, which is no longer supplying the country. Our report tried to conduct some research to know the current capacity, but to no avail. However, the announcement of the load shedding during peak hours revealed that the electricity demand is more than the current supply. This, therefore, reveals that while access has expanded significantly in recent years, the latest development highlights the widening gap between electrification targets and sustainable generation capacity. This means many households could be connected to the grid but will not have enough supply.