EDSA warns the public over illegal electricity abstraction 

Sierra Leone’s Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA), in a press release issued on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, informed the public that they are faced with challenges caused by human interferences which are responsible for the frequent interruptions in power supply in recent times.

In the press release, EDSA stated that its main aim is to provide continuous uninterrupted power supply to its consumers, but human activities like the illegal abstraction of electricity (diverting the connection which makes people not pay the appropriate charges for electricity consumed), is one key reason that has hindered their central focus.

The release also states that this behaviour has seriously dampened the financial viability of the Authority to an extent that the Authority finds it difficult to honour its financial obligations.

However, EDSA has made it clear that ‘any person who prevents any meter or installation from duly recording the output or consumption of electricity’, has committed an offence under the National Electricity Act of 2011 and it is liable on conviction to a fine, not less than NLE 50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both fine and imprisonment.

In this light, EDSA said that it will reinforce its inspectorate team in collaboration with the Judiciary of Sierra Leone to embark on frequent inspections of businesses, and residents, and ensure that the law takes its course on persons found wanting.

Lastly, they stated that they have recorded an increase in the rate of vandalism committed on its network distribution infrastructures across communities, and described such acts as unpatriotic, which has interrupted the supply of power and has expanded the financial burden of the company to replace the vandalized facilities.