• Gabon’s utility SEEG has launched technical upgrades to reduce power outages in Greater Libreville.

• The plan includes repairing a key underground cable and expanding generation at the Owendo plant.

• The measures are part of a broader effort to stabilize a grid strained by aging infrastructure and limited capacity.

Gabon’s national utility, Société d’énergie et d’eau du Gabon (SEEG), has begun a series of technical interventions aimed at reducing power outages across Greater Libreville, according to reports published Monday, March 2 by local media. The measures target both the transmission network and electricity generation capacity.

One priority is the repair of a 90-kilovolt underground cable connecting the Bisségué and Ambowè substations. SEEG says faults in the line currently force operators to rely on an overhead transmission line instead. That workaround increases pressure on the grid and contributes to instability in several parts of the capital region.

The program also includes the installation of additional gas turbines at the Owendo thermal power plant. As Ecofin Agency reported in late February, the facility is now expected to reach a generation capacity of 225 megawatts by 2028. SEEG says the new equipment should strengthen electricity supply to Greater Libreville.

The company also plans to install a new ACCC overhead transmission cable between the Owendo plant and the Bisségué substation. According to GabonReview, this technology can carry more electricity while reducing technical losses along the line.

These actions form part of a broader 2025–2028 program designed to stabilize electricity supply in the Gabonese capital and surrounding areas.

Gabon’s national power system combines hydropower and thermal generation to supply major urban centers, including Libreville, according to an analysis of the country’s energy market by Enerdata.

Yet structural challenges remain. A report by the Institut Concorde notes that the power grid faces limited generation capacity, aging infrastructure and significant technical losses, all of which complicate the delivery of electricity to urban and industrial areas.

A 2025 country report by the African Development Bank also highlighted electricity access and reliability as key challenges for Gabon’s economy, despite the country’s significant hydropower potential.

Against that backdrop, the government has begun a broader reform of the sector. According to the public broadcaster Gabon 24, authorities plan to split SEEG by 2027, separating its electricity and water operations as part of a restructuring of the utility.

Abdel-Latif Boureima