Support for the recovery of the Bissau underground network
In 2015, the EDP Group, through EDP Internacional, promoted a project to support the recovery of the underground medium voltage (MV) network in the Guinean capital, at the invitation of the Ministry of Industry and Energy of Guinea-Bissau and the country's Water and Electricity utility company (EAGB).
A team of EDP experts was in Bissau to provide technical assistance in locating, detecting and repairing faults in the country capital's network, together with the technicians of the Guinea-Bissau national electricity utility company. This project ensured a greater reliability of the city's medium-voltage distribution network, ensuring the continuity of supply to nearly 300 thousand people.
This project was also an opportunity for the exchange of experiences and knowledge between the EDP and EAGB teams, in terms of works in electrical networks and in the resolution of faults in the network.
Diagnosis of the Guinea-Bissau Electricity and Water company's commercial system
In 2016, EDP Internacional implemented a project to survey and diagnose the commercial system of the Guinea-Bissau Electricity and Water utility (EAGB), seeking to support Guinean technicians in identifying the best solutions for an efficient and customer-oriented business system.
The EDP team worked in Bissau, in close liaison with EAGB's technical team, in collecting data and supporting information to analyze the existing situation, covering four major areas:
- Meter systems
- Meter reading systems
- Billing systems
- Collection systems and debt management systems.
In order to reinforce the commercial aspect of the Guinea-Bissau Electricity and Water Company, EDP also identified measures that need to be implemented to solve constraints and critical problems in EAGB's system:
- Measures to improve service quality
- Measures to strengthen processes in accordance with international best practices.
Restructuring of EAGB, Guinea-Bissau's electricity and water company
EDP, Águas de Portugal Internacional and the Portuguese consulting firm Leadership Business Consulting have won, in November 2018, an international tender - held by the government of Guinea-Bissau and funded by the World Bank - to provide technical assistance in the modernization and restructuring of EAGB, Guinea-Bissau's electricity and water company. The 3-year contract will enable the state-owned company to manage its resources and customer relationships more efficiently.