Bobo-Dioulasso: Journalists discover the hard work of the national electricity company's agents

For 48 hours, journalists and members of civil society organizations immersed themselves in the K´deni substation and the Bobo II power plant. The objective: to better understand SONABEL's energy production, transmission, and distribution mechanisms in this part of Burkina Faso.

According to Burkina Information Agency, this visit, organized on March 27 and 28, 2025, allowed participants to tour the national electricity company's key facilities. Guided by a strict schedule and adhering to strict security measures, they first visited the K´deni substation. Experts assert that this infrastructure plays a crucial role in the transmission and distribution of electricity.

Seydou Sanou, section head of the station, explained that this installation ensures the distribution of imported and produced energy on the interconnected national network. "The K´deni dispatch center receives electricity from various production sources before distributing it via transformers that lower the voltage, thus allowing it to be delivered to consumers," he said.

After this first stage, the journalists and civil society actors headed to the Bobo II thermal power plant. There, they discovered the old engine center, comprising five units installed since 1987 and producing 15 MW, as well as the new center, equipped with modern engines installed in 2015 and producing 40 MW.

The tour continued through the various sections of the facility, including the control room, a department where agents monitor the electrical network parameters 24/7. F©lix Sawadogo, head of the thermal production department of SONABEL's commercial agencies, highlighted the importance of the Bobo II power plant in Burkina Faso's energy landscape. "It has an installed capacity of approximately 69 MW, with a currently usable capacity of 46 MW. It contributes 10% of the demand on the national interconnected network (RNI)," he said.

He also praised the hard work of the technicians who, in difficult conditions, maintain the generators to ensure sufficient production to meet the high demand. After the Ouagadougou stage, this immersion allowed media professionals and civil society to see the challenges faced by SONABEL in ensuring the continuity of public electricity service, especially during this period of intense heatwave.