The Minister of Energy, Petroleum and Mines, Birame Soulèye Diop, conducted a series of strategic visits on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, including visits to the Autonomous Port of Dakar, the Senelec National Dispatch Center in Mbao, and the 3MD Energy plant in Thiès. The objective of this ministerial tour was to demonstrate the State's commitment to strengthening public-private partnerships with a view to achieving full energy sovereignty for Senegal.

The visit began at the Port of Dakar with the delivery of turbines destined for the Ndar Energy project. A strategic project worth over 300 billion CFA francs, it embodies the State's ambition to convert all oil-fired power plants to gas as part of the "Gas-to-Power" strategy.

Minister Diop reiterated that universal access to sufficient and affordable energy is the ultimate goal. He explained that these turbines are a key step because "they will allow the power plant to operate using gas from GTA."

Regarding the announced decrease in electricity prices, the minister clarified that it is currently the result of "efforts implemented by the State to provide relief to households," and not of power plant conversions. He did, however, assure that the construction of new gas-fired power plants and the renewable energy development strategy will allow for a structural reduction in electricity prices starting in early 2026.

The Ndar Energy project, financed by AXA Energy, will be carried out in two cycles: a single cycle in July 2026 and a combined cycle in January/February 2027.

At the Senelec National Dispatching Center in Mbao, the nerve center for control and network operations, the minister was welcomed by the Director General, Tobi Gueye.

Mr. Gueye indicated that Senelec is actively working to prevent disruptions and power outages, particularly the imbalance between supply and demand. Solutions are being considered, including the upcoming installation of 56 and 86 Megawatt (mW) storage batteries, in collaboration with French and German partners.

The CEO also emphasized the need to establish backup or recovery dispatch centers, as "a single dispatch center is insufficient" in the face of major disruptions. The new IRTE network (telecommunications network) will ensure better operational management and cost optimization.

3MD Energy: Local Industry at the Heart of Independence

The visit concluded in Thiès, at the headquarters of the national company 3MD Energy, whose CEO, Chérif Nehma Aidara, praised the ministerial visit. He reiterated the pillars of 3MD Energy: local production, value creation, and the export of Senegalese expertise.

The company has established itself as a driver of national industrialization through the local manufacturing of prefabricated workstations. This expertise has already enabled Senegal to save over 10 billion CFA francs, reducing the unit cost of imports by 40%.

"Energy sovereignty cannot be decreed. It is built through coherence, public vision and industrial action," said Mr. Aidara, stressing that each station manufactured is a brick in the edifice of sovereignty.

Minister Birame Soulèye Diop warmly welcomed this public-private partnership, stating that it "embodies the complementarity between the vision of the State and the execution capacity of national industries."

He emphasized that the local production of prefabricated substations is the concrete manifestation of energy sovereignty through industry. The thousandth substation recently delivered, he said, is "a symbol of confidence, evidence of increased expertise, and a sign of a controlled energy future."

The minister concluded by assuring 3MD Energy of the State's full support in its initiatives to strengthen industrial independence, in view of the Senegal 2050 Framework.