Praia, Sept. 4, 2025 (Lusa) - The Cabo Verde Electricity Production Company (EPEC) announced on Thursday that a "complex breakdown" in a generator set at the Praia power station has caused power cuts on the island of Santiago since Monday.
At a press conference in the capital, the chairman of EPEC's board of directors, Luís Teixeira, explained that, "due to the maintenance of a generator set, the island was left without a production reserve, and then there was a new fault that forced the engine to be dismantled to inspect the cylinders".
"We're talking about a very complex fault. Under normal conditions, we have five operating groups," he said.
According to Luís Teixeira, at peak times, the island of Santiago requires 36 megawatts, but currently, only 30 are available, resulting in alternating cuts between zones.
The president of EPEC also pointed to clandestine connections as a “serious” problem, especially in the city of Praia, where more than 36% of the energy is lost, putting pressure on an already fragile system and increasing the risk of accidents, particularly during the rainy season.
"The company is working day and night to normalise the situation, but the issue of clandestine connections must also be part of the solution," he stressed, predicting that normality would be restored by next week.
The island of Santiago, including the city of Praia, has seen occasional power cuts since Monday, organised by zone and alternating between them.
Meanwhile, the Cabo Verde Electricity Distribution Company (EDEC) reported on Monday that a fault at the weekend in the medium voltage network "seriously" affected the power supply in several locations on the island of Fogo.
The fault also had an impact on the water supply, as it jeopardised the operation of the water pumping and lifting system at the various stations of the Águabrava inter-municipal company.
Today, the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Energy, Alexandre Monteiro, recognised the disruption caused by the cuts in Santiago and Fogo and clarified that the cause was a fault, not a lack of installed capacity.
He also said that he was monitoring the situation and supporting efforts to normalise the service as quickly as possible.
RS/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
