Liberia Begins Reconstruction of its Electricity Grid

The capital of Liberia, Monrovia, like the rest of the country, has been without electrical power for 14 years due to civil war. The complete destruction of the electricity grid and hydropower facility were intentional during the reign of military dictatorships. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, left, turned on a small power plant this week to carry electricity along a grid to hospitals and streetlights in one community in Monrovia. Homes and businesses currently use individual emergency generators for electricity. Hopefully the entire grid will be restored throughout Liberia soon.

We were going to recommend that the U.S. provide support for Liberia but it appears that we cannot restore our own grid or build the necessary amount of power plants to meet our needs. Liberia has a population of 3 million people. Three large fission electric plants would meet all of their needs and would not contribute smog or greenhouse gases. But it appears that we cannot build a fission plant here, even with full government support. Good luck President Sirleaf. We have our own serious electricity problems here.