Electrical power in Sao Tome and Principe is provided by the Empresa de Agua e Electricidade (EMAE), a public-private company. EMAE is 51% government-owned, and 49% privately-owned (40% Sonangol, and 9% private enterprise in São Tomé e Príncipe). The company's total generation capacity on the islands is approximately 11.6 MW, 9.2 MW from diesel plants and 2.4 MW from hydro-electric plants.
The company’s main distribution system includes the north-western section of Sao Tome Island from near Neves to Ribeira Afonso. It operates an isolated diesel powered generator and transmission system in S. Joao dos Angolares, a diesel powered generator system on Principe and a small diesel generator on the Monte Café plantation that was not operational in later January-early February 2004. There exists also a privately owned micro-hydro system on the Augustino Neto plantation.
Approximately just over half the population of Sao Tome and Principe have access to electricity, which means that many more households are without electricity and have to rely on candlelight and kerosene lighting, as well as on biomass (firewood and charcoal) for cooking purposes. The cost of connecting new households to the grid remains a great challenge for EMAE.
