Lomé, June 3, 2026. There's a change at the helm of the Togolese Electricity Company (CEET). Appointed in March 2022, Débo-K'mba Barandao is handing over his position as Director General to Ilagou Ayeva .

Despite his extensive knowledge of the sector's inner workings—drawing on his past experience as head of the Energy Directorate and the West African Gas Pipeline Authority (AGAO)—the outgoing director leaves behind a legacy marked by persistent social unrest. In his four years in office, two major issues crystallized the Togolese people's discontent.

Governance disrupted by the energy and tariff crisis

1. The tariff outcry (May 2025): The announcement of an increase in the price of electricity had raised a wave of national indignation, forcing CEET to suspend the measure in the face of popular pressure.
2. The return of load shedding (March 2026): Power supply interruptions have resumed with renewed intensity in several localities, exasperating subscribers.

Should this be seen as a management failure?

During an interview on TVT on March 11, Débo-K'mba Barandao defended his record by citing external and structural factors:

"The situation began with a supply shortage from our external suppliers. This was compounded by the technical shutdown of a local power plant, further exacerbating the losses."

The outgoing director had also cited "technical constraints on the network," a sharp increase in demand, and essential maintenance operations to secure the system. While CEET's emergency plan (zone demarcation, deployment of ground teams) brought about a slight improvement, the outages have not completely disappeared.

The new CEO, Ilagou Ayeva, is therefore under intense scrutiny: he will have to quickly mobilize all possible levers to boost the country's production and distribution capacities.

The major challenge of universal access by 2030

Despite these logistical challenges, Togo has clear ambitions: to achieve 100% electricity coverage by 2030. A major challenge that takes place in a very contrasting regional landscape.

At the ECOWAS level, the average rate of access to electricity was only 57.4% in 2022 (74% concentrated in urban areas), far from the community target of 90% set for 2030.

Overview of access to electricity in West Africa (2022 data)

The ECOWAS report highlights profound disparities between the top performers and the lagging countries:

Country	Access rate (2022)
Cape Verde	92%
Ghana	89%
Ivory Coast	85%
Senegal	76%
Gambia	63%
Nigeria	59%
Togo	58%
Guinea	55%
Benign	38%
Liberia	29%
Sierra Leone	25%
Guinea-Bissau	24%

Togo, a "good student" making strong progress

Although firmly entrenched in the middle of the rankings in 2022, Togo has redoubled its efforts. According to the Ministry of Energy, the national access rate jumped to reach 75.6% by the end of 2025 .

If the pace of investment is maintained, the goal of universal access by 2030 is well within reach. The challenge now is to translate these figures into a reliable daily reality for the population, as stable energy is the essential engine of the country's economic and social development.