By Ragan M. Conteh

The Member of Parliament from Bo District who doubles as the Chairman of the Oversight Committee on Energy, Hon. Keikura K. Vandy, has told Members of Parliament that most of the factories and business places including private homes, allegedly, are cartels that are illegally connected to electricity.

When doing so, he said, they are depriving the Government of Sierra Leone much needed revenue generation.

The Chairman of the Oversight Committee, Hon. Keikura K. Vandy, on Thursday 24th July 2025 made this submission when debating on the bill entitled the Sierra Leone Electricity and Water Regulatory Act of 2025 in the Well of Parliament.

According to Hon. Keikura Vandy, most of the night clubs and businesses including some private houses are engaging in electricity theft in almost everywhere in Sierra Leone.

He said this has negatively deprived EDSA from its revenue generation as well as in sustaining electricity supply in the country.

He said there are several reports of illegal connections not only at night clubs but  also in other business places across the country.

He said this leads to  Government losing billions of Leones monthly as a result of illegal connection and electricity thievery.

The Chairman of the Energy Committee in Parliament, Hon. Kiekura K. Vandy, said his community people were very much disappointed to see such institutions engaging in electricity theft.

He, however, urged the Ministry officials to step up robust measures to ensure that those businesses, that are in the habit of electricity theft, are reprimanded and face the wrath of the law nationwide.

He urged citizens to embrace their role as catalysts for change within the electricity sector, thus stressing that proactive measures are imperative to combat the persistent challenges facing the nation’s energy infrastructure.

The MP’s statement underscored government’s commitment to tackling electricity theft and by ensuring the integrity of the national energy grid.

“A huge amount of our revenue is lost due to illegal abstraction of electricity, customers being on the wrong tariff category and paying less than they should be paying for electricity; and multiple customers feeding from a single meter,” he said.

The MP furthered that some factories and industries with the habits of electricity thievery are also going to be named and shamed when once apprehended during the operation, and encouraged all MPs to be watchful of people in the culture of power thefts in their respective neighbourhoods, as certain people always impersonate to be EDSA staff while they are not.