Praia, Sept. 26, 2025 (Lusa) - The Cabo Verdean government announced on Friday a technical investigation into the successive breakdowns that, since the beginning of the month, have caused prolonged daily power blackouts in the capital, Praia, and apologised for what is happening.
"The government has requested a technical investigation, the report of which will be analysed seriously and measures will be taken," said Energy Minister Alexandre Monteiro today at a press conference in Praia.
The investigation could be completed during October and the results will be made public, in a process that will involve the participation of external experts, he explained.
"On behalf of the government, I would like to reiterate our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused. We are fully aware of the seriousness of the situation and are supporting the [electricity] company in restoring continuous supply as soon as possible," he said.
"Normality has not been restored" because there have been successive breakdowns in the generators at the Santiago Island power station, he said.
"The resolution was scheduled for the beginning of this week, but once again, it was not possible because of another malfunction," he added, describing the situation at the public energy production (EPEC) and distribution (EDEC) companies, without being able to say when the blackouts will end.
‘We are not committing to dates because we are talking about machines that require caution in terms of setting dates,’ he said.
Even so, Alexandre Monteiro said that "within a few days, the population of Santiago will begin to see improvements" and said he believed that, once the crisis is over, the country will have a more secure and sustainable electricity system.
According to the minister, one of the measures to achieve this is based on the resolution, published today, to compensate for the water tariff deficit accumulated between 2019 and 2025, covering the Electricity and Water Company (Electra), Águas de Santiago (AdS) and Água e Energia da Boavista (AEB).
The water sector is a major energy consumer because it depends on electricity supplies for desalination and pumping.
According to the resolution, the Government has decided to adopt a financial compensation mechanism to restore the balance of the companies concerned, "by reducing existing liabilities to Electra, but also to strengthen the operational sustainability of this company, contributing to the stability and security of water and electricity supply in the country".
Marcos Rodrigues, president of the Sotavento Chamber of Commerce (CCS), Cabo Verde's main business association, told Lusa on Wednesday that the lack of energy in the capital since the beginning of the month is "brutally affecting the economy," calling for an urgent resolution.
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