Liberia’s electricity regulator approved a new multiyear tariff package on Friday designed to shore up the financial viability of the state utility while trimming energy prices for low consuming households and some residential users.
The Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission (LERC) said the tariffs, which take effect Jan. 1, 2026, and run through Dec. 31, 2028, were set to allow an efficient operator to recover costs, earn a reasonable return and finance planned investments.
LERC said total capital expenditure for the tariff period is projected at $256 million to modernize the grid, expand access and reduce losses.
Key elements
– Social customers using up to 25 kWh per month will pay $0.13/kWh, down 13.3% from the current $0.15/kWh; they will not pay a monthly fixed charge.
– Prepaid and postpaid residential rates are set at $0.22/kWh, an 8.3% cut from $0.24/kWh. Monthly fixed charges fall to $2.00 for prepaid (from $2.48) and $3.79 for postpaid (from $4.47).
– Prepaid and postpaid commercial customers remain at $0.22/kWh; fixed charges are reduced to $8.48 (from $10.00) and $10.17 (from $12.00), respectively.
– Medium voltage customers (22kV/33kV) will see their energy rate rise to $0.20/kWh (a 5.3% increase from $0.19) while the monthly fixed charge drops to $42.40 (from $50.00).
– Connection charges change materially: single-phase connections rise sharply to $70 (a 218% increase from $22), while three phase fees fall slightly to $340 (from $350). Exemptions apply where grid expansion and connections are donor or government funded.
– A 3.5% regulatory levy on LEC’s annual revenue requirement, passed through in end-user tariffs, will fund LERC’s budget as set out under the 2015 Electricity Law.
LERC said the tariff decision is grounded in LEC’s latest customer and demand forecasts. Customers are projected to rise from about 355,800 in 2025 to roughly 619,600 by 2028 (a 74% increase), while energy consumption is forecast to jump about 152% to 885,789 MWh. Domestic and imported generation is expected to grow about 80% to 1,145,991 MWh.
The regulator expects aggregate technical and commercial losses to fall from 41% in 2025 to 28% in 2028. LERC noted that each percentage point reduction in total losses lowers end-user tariffs by roughly 1.8%, all else equal, underlining the tariff package’s emphasis on loss reduction as a route to affordability.
The tariff review followed a protracted application process marked by management changes at the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) and multiple resubmissions.
LERC held six public hearings across affected counties in October and November, drawing 1,057 participants and collecting 103 written submissions. Stakeholders raised concerns about reliability, tariff reduction, grid expansion and customer service.
Claude Katta, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners said LERC analysis involved merit order dispatch modelling to minimize generation costs and multiple rounds of data verification with LEC. The commission stressed that only prudent costs were included in the revenue requirement approved for recovery through tariffs.
Implications
The package aims to balance consumer relief for low consuming households with measures to stabilize LEC’s revenue from fixed charges and connection fees, supporting the utility’s ability to finance $256 million in investments.
The steep rise in the single-phase connection fee may affect affordability of new connections unless funded by donors or government programs, a point LERC acknowledged.
A full tariff decision report explaining the rationale and detailed calculations will be published on LERC’s website and shared with stakeholders in Dec. 19, 2025.
