Electricity in Benin: the government attributes recent outages to regional technical constraints

Benin now has electric power generation capacity deemed sufficient to cover a significant portion of its needs, thanks to recently commissioned infrastructure.

It is on this basis that Minister Counselor Janvier Yahouedehou relied to explain the disruptions observed in the electricity supply in recent days.
According to him, investments made in recent years have profoundly changed the national energy landscape.

Maria Gléta power plant alone accounts for an estimated production of 127 megawatts, while the Pobè plant, recently inaugurated, can provide about 75 additional megawatts. These installations have allowed the country to significantly reduce its dependence on electricity imports, previously essential to supplement national production.

However, energy demand continues to grow. Benin’s current needs are estimated at nearly 380 megawatts. To fill this gap, the country still relies, on a temporary basis, on external supplies, notably from Nigeria and via the Benin Electricity Community.

However, a major outage that recently occurred in Nigeria has temporarily reduced these supplies, causing interruptions to the national grid.

The Minister Counselor stressed that these outages are not the result of a load-shedding policy. According to him, this mechanism is no longer in effect in Benin, which now enjoys a broadly continuous electricity supply.

What about energy interruptions?

The interruptions observed would be rather exceptional and linked to technical incidents, in a context where users have become accustomed to better stability of the service. He seeks to reassure, estimating that the situation should normalize in the short term.

In the same spirit, the Benin Electricity Production Company and the Benin Electric Energy Company published, on February 10, 2026, a joint statement to inform consumers. The two bodies confirm that disruptions have been observed for several weeks across the entire national territory.

They explain these difficulties by technical constraints affecting regional electrical interconnections, which temporarily influence the balance and stability of the Benin grid.

While apologizing to the population and to economic actors for the inconveniences suffered, SBPE and SBEE assure that appropriate technical measures are underway to progressively restore a more stable and reliable electricity supply.

They urge users to be patient, reaffirming their commitment to securing the country’s energy supply in a sustainable manner.