Senegal spent close to half a billion dollars on electricity subsidies in 2023.
The government wants out of that bill, and its plan is a $7.5 billion bet on its own gas.
Senegal's state-owned oil company says the Yakaar-Teranga gas discovery will cost $7.5 billion to develop. Once it's pumping, the country expects to cut deep into its energy subsidies.
The math is brutal right now. Subsidy spending hit roughly $455 million in 2023, according to Senegal's finance ministry.
That's a heavy bill for a country trying to balance growth, fuel costs, and household budgets. Average household electricity tariffs were about 19 cents per kilowatt-hour in December 2024.
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Senegal will stop importing natural gas in 2026, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said last August. That move alone is expected to save the budget about $227 million a year.
The government wants gas to make up 75% of installed power capacity.
To get there, it's converting the existing 335-megawatt Bel Air plant and building a new 366-megawatt facility.
Domestic supply is coming from two big projects:
Authorities expect 20% to 25% of GTA Phase 1 production to feed the domestic market by 2027.
In English: Senegal is finally pumping enough of its own oil and gas that it doesn't need to keep buying it from abroad.
The savings only become real if the subsidies actually come off, and that's a political call as much as an economic one.
State utility Senelec and the Electricity Sector Regulation Commission decide what consumers pay. They could ease subsidies down quietly or move faster and risk a backlash.
For Senegal's finance ministry, $7.5 billion is a heavy spend. For its 2030 budget, it's the difference between subsidizing power and selling it.
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