Berbera power report: what Somaliland Chronicle claimed, and left open

On 17 November 2023, Somaliland Chronicle published an article headlined "Somaliland: Berbera city's growth is being held back by a power supply monopoly." The piece describes Berbera, home to Somaliland's main port, as a city whose revenues and infrastructure are out of step. No follow-up reporting, official response or regulatory decision has been recorded in the evidence reviewed here, so what has happened in Berbera's power market since that date is not established.

The report's central claim is one of market structure. Its authors wrote that "lack of regulation, and collaboration between the government and private businesses have spawned a monopoly of energy provision in Berbera," and that this "makes electricity unaffordable for most residents." SCR has not confirmed the existence of such a monopoly; the claim is the authors' and no provider is named. The article offers no tariff or price data.

The figures and where they come from

The report states that Somaliland's electricity access rate is estimated at 15%, an estimate the publication cites without a source. It also reports that 80% of the population use biomass fuel, mostly charcoal and firewood, for daily energy needs, again without citing a source or date. Both figures are Somaliland Chronicle's, not established statistics.

The article links the city's port to national revenue: it says the port accounted for two-thirds of Somaliland's revenues in 2020, citing no source. It adds that, over the years, these revenues "have mostly gone into the central state coffers, while the development of Berbera has been neglected," an assertion attributed to the authors. The same authors wrote that they visited Berbera for a research project on port infrastructure, international politics and everyday life, and that they found buildings in the city centre "abandoned and dilapidated," with roads, water, electricity, health and schooling lacking. No dates are given for that visit.

The report frames an uneven development: Berbera port "consumes a lot of energy while most city dwellers lack affordable electricity." It gives no consumption quantities. The authors concluded that these inequalities "challenge the expectation" that deeper integration into global production and consumption chains, through what they call a modern port, "will greatly benefit its citizens." That is the authors' conclusion.

What the report does not establish

The article names no monopoly company or electricity provider, provides no generating source data, and carries no response from the Somaliland government, the Berbera port authority or any energy provider. It also leaves open what has changed since: the evidence reviewed here records no development, investment or regulatory step in Berbera's power market after 2023-11-17, and no confirmation that the report has been updated or superseded.

For developers and investors weighing Berbera, that gap matters as much as the claims. The report's figures on electricity access, biomass use and port revenue are attributed to Somaliland Chronicle alone; any use of them should carry that attribution. The monopoly claim is the authors' description of the market, not an SCR finding.