The Monrovia Consolidated School System (MCSS) has been reportedly caught illegally consuming electricity during an ongoing nationwide exercise, the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) had initiated. The exercise is to transition government institutions from the postpaid billing system to prepaid electricity.
The allegation against MCSS has intensified public concern over accountability within government institutions, as the state-owned power utility expands its campaign to combat electricity theft, and improve revenue collection.
LEC made the discovery on Tuesday, August 4, when a revenue department team visited several ministries, and agencies to install prepaid electricity services.
During the same operation, LEC also disconnected the Liberia Land Authority (LLA), and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.
However, the corporation clarified that those disconnected were not linked to allegations of power theft, but were carried out solely to migrate the institutions from the postpaid system, which they had used for several months to the new prepaid electricity arrangement.
Under the prepaid system, government institutions will now be required to purchase electricity tokens before consuming power, placing them under the same payment structure already used by homes, and businesses.
The LEC believes the reform will reduce unpaid arrears, strengthen financial discipline, and improve revenue collection.
The corporation says, the migration forms part of a strategy to eliminate electricity theft, dismantle illegal connections, and reduce the financial losses that have long undermined the electricity sector.
The exercise is expected to continue in the coming days.
During the operation, officials reportedly identified an unauthorized electricity connection at the MCSS headquarters.
LEC officials alleged that the illegal connection enabled the institution to consume electricity for several months without making the required payments.
If confirmed through investigation, the scheme could represent a serious abuse of public resources, and a significant breach of public trust.
The revelation has triggered criticism from members of the public, many of whom, argue that ordinary Liberians are routinely disconnected from the national grid over unpaid electricity bills, while government institutions, including MCSS have reportedly benefited from “unauthorized power consumption.”
The allegations have also reignited debate over whether public institutions are held to the same legal standards imposed on private businesses, and residential consumers.
Critics insist the government’s credibility in fighting electricity theft will depend on whether the law is applied equally, regardless of the institution involved.
Meanwhile, the allegations against MCSS have prompted growing calls for an independent investigation to establish, who authorized the illegal connection, how long it remained operational, and the extent of any financial losses suffered by the government.
