NAWEC managing director Gallo Saidy says continued reliance on Karpower could have pushed the utility toward bankruptcy and limited its ability to invest in its own generation capacity.

Speaking on Kerr Fatou, Saidy said continued payments to Karpower would have constrained NAWEC’s ability to rehabilitate its generators and invest in new capacity.

“Our debt portfolio would have been over the ceiling. We would have been bankrupt. NAWEC was bankrupt,” he said.

Saidy said NAWEC returned to profitability in 2025, its first profit in several years, following measures aimed at improving the utility’s financial and operational position.

He said Karpower had an installed capacity of 30 megawatts but supplied about 25MW to the national grid, while NAWEC is now generating around 30MW from its own plants.

According to Saidy, strengthening NAWEC’s domestic generation capacity is part of efforts to reduce the utility’s reliance on independent power producers and increase its control over electricity generation.

“If Karpower’s presence had been very beneficial to the country, we would have kept it,” Saidy said.

His comments come amid continued debate over the cost, reliability and sustainability of electricity generation in The Gambia.