Senegal power cuts highlight need to embrace gas, minister says

DAKAR, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Power cuts in Senegal in September have underscored the need to embrace gas as a means of electricity generation, the West African country's energy minister said.

• Senegal faced frequent power cuts throughout September in the capital and elsewhere

• Minister El Hadji Abdourahmane Diouf said on Thursday that electricity demand was rising rapidly and that hot weather caused it to hit a higher-than-expected peak of 1,400 megawatts in August

• While Senegal has an installed capacity of more than 2,300 MW, the system was not able to meet demand due to insufficient fuel supply and technology breakdowns, he said

• Senegal mainly depends on diesel to generate electricity and is moving towards gas to lower costs, aiming to cut its dependence on costly imported fuels

• The country is expected to build around 340 km of gas pipelines to enable it to transport its own natural gas, Diouf said

• Senegal has not signed any oil or gas contracts since 2017, but the energy ministry has redrawn its map of blocks, making them smaller and potentially more attractive to investors, Diouf said

• Out of 113 offshore and onshore blocks, 5 will be evaluated by Italian oil company Eni ENI.MI and 104 will be presented to investors on a roadshow, he said

  ($1 = 577.0000 CFA francs)