METER SYNDICATE ROCKS EDSA
By Ibrahim Alusine Kamara (Kamalo)
On 3rd December 2025, the management of the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) informed Sierra Leoneans, through a public notice, that it had discontinued the sale of electricity meters through its previously accredited vendors—Holley Technology Limited and Kalleone and Elite Solution.
The Authority assured the public that, effective 3rd December, the process of meter purchase and installation would henceforth be handled directly by EDSA at a modest connection fee covering both the cost of the meter and installation. This policy shift, according to management, was intended to reduce the financial burden on customers, ensure accurate billing, promote fairness, and ultimately improve service delivery.
EDSA clearly stated that the cost of a single-phase meter, including installation, is NLe 1,500 (One Million Five Hundred Thousand old Leones), while a three-phase meter costs NLe 2,500 (Two Million Five Hundred Thousand old Leones). Additionally, customers are required to pay NLe 150 (One Hundred and Fifty Thousand old Leones) to a certified electrical contractor to assess the integrity and readiness of the premises prior to final meter installation.
Management further emphasized that meters are readily available and urged the public to report anyone involved in the illegal sale of meters or demanding payments outside the officially approved fees. EDSA warned that any individual found culpable of such acts would be prosecuted.
However, while EDSA’s head office on Siaka Stevens Street appears committed to easing the economic hardship of citizens in their quest for access to electricity, the Waterloo branch of EDSA tells a completely different story, one that suggests an institution operating outside the authority and directives of its own management.
In Waterloo, the purchase and installation of electricity meters remain economically punishing and administratively frustrating. Despite the clearly announced official costs, customers are made to pay varying amounts, largely dependent on how urgently they need electricity or whom they know within the system.
An unofficial and well-understood price structure for meter acquisition is alleged to have been entrenched at Waterloo EDSA branch. Those who insist on paying the official cost of NLe 1,650 for a single-phase meter are subjected to unjustified delays, ranging from three to four months before installation.
Multiple independent eyewitness accounts suggest that customers who pay NLe 2,000 (Two Million old Leones) for a single-phase meter receive their meters significantly earlier than those who insist on paying the official NLe 1,650, while those seeking immediate or near-instant delivery are reportedly required to pay as much as NLe 3,500 (Three Million Five Hundred Thousand old Leones).
For all meter installations, however, accounts alleged enduring prolonged delays, or not, customers are further compelled to pay additional unofficial charges ranging from NLe 300 to NLe 500 for cable connection to the electric pole before meter installation.
The consistency of accounts from eyewitnesses about the state of affairs could suggest the problem in Waterloo is not the action of a few rogue individuals, but a systemic operation that has become normalized within the branch. This effectively turns electricity access into a pay-to-play service, where official policy serves merely as a façade, and illegal payments dictate service delivery. Such a system directly undermines EDSA’s public assurances of fairness, affordability, and abundant meter availability. It also raises troubling questions about internal supervision, revenue leakages, and accountability.
With this, EDSA’s publicly announced costs and stated policy are not only contradicted, but the creation of a two-tier system, with one meant for those who can afford to pay bribes to fast-track services, and the other for law-abiding citizens who are punished for insisting on transparency practice, entrenches corruption, inequality, and exploitation within an institution meant to serve the public interest.
Electricity supply is not a luxury; it is a critical driver of socioeconomic development, essential for households, businesses, healthcare facilities, and education. Practices that deliberately frustrate access to it undermine national development and erode public trust in state institutions.
It is therefore imperative that EDSA’s top management urgently investigates the operations of the Waterloo branch and holds accountable those responsible for perpetuating these blatant and systemic corrupt practices. Failure to act decisively will not only damage the credibility of EDSA but will also embolden similar misconduct across other branches of the Authority.