Emergency short-term power for the Ivory Coast

The Challenge
Inject stable and cost-effective temporary power into booming economy
The Solution
A specially designed package that tapped into a natural supply of gas
The Impact
Emergency power supplied in a matter of weeks – local communities trained

Client: CI-Energies

Location: Ivory Coast, Africa

Sectors: Utilities

The challenge

Inject cost-effective temporary power into booming Ivorian economy

The economy in the Ivory Coast and surrounding countries is booming, but a booming economy means reliance on unstable local power grids that aren’t up to the increased demands of businesses and locals. CI-Energies knew they needed to make a long-term investment in their electricity infrastructure, but they desperately needed more power injected into the grid in the short term.

So we tapped into the country’s natural gas supply and delivered bridging power in three phases – each in short timescales.

Project fact file

Output of gas-fired power plant 200MW

Output of high-voltage transformers 225kV

Number of Ivorians trained 18

The solution

A package that tapped into a natural supply of gas

We built a 200 MW gas-fired power plant connected to the local substation. The switch gears, control rooms, HV transformers (up to 225 kV) and HV cabling were all part of the package, as were our onsite technicians who ran the whole operation 24/7.

Normally it would take several months to construct a gas plant, but because of our experience in designing and packaging standardised power plants, we were able to provide a cost-effective, utility-scale gas power plant in just a matter of weeks.

“Our project in Ivory Coast is a great example of the value Aggreko brings to its utility customers in Africa. Our solutions address shortages in power generation capacity, giving our customers the ability to maintain supply, while they work to improve their systems.”

Managing Director , Aggreko North and West Africa

Christophe Jacquin

The impact

Power provided in a matter of weeks and communities upskilled

We were able to stabilise the grid and provide enough additional energy to support both local industry and the export of power to neighbouring countries. This left CI-Energies the time to get on with the job of building an effective, permanent stable power grid without having to worry about filling short-term gaps.

We also invested in the West African youth training program, which fast-tracks employment opportunities in the industry in Ivory Coast and other global locations, and is in line with our commitment to local communities. The program has so far seen 18 Ivorian and West African engineers trained, with 14 of these going on to graduate and join Aggreko in various locations across Africa.