H1 2026 Evaluation
Guinea Reservoir Transparency
F0Opaque — Ranked #162 out of 167 countries
weight 30%
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weight 15%
weight 13%
weight 10%
weight 8%
weight 5%
Primary source evaluated
Dimension breakdown
Data Availability
20% of total score
No national portal or agency publishes current reservoir storage volumes. EDG's website (edg.com.gn) has annual activity reports (2015–2024) and a descriptive production page but no reservoir-level figures. The only water-level data found in open sources is a snapshot from a June 2024 ministerial inspection news article on gouvernement.gov.gn (Souapiti at 186.2 m, approaching the critical threshold) — a political communication piece, not a data system. Souapiti is operated by SOGES/SOGEKA (Chinese-run joint ventures) and publishes nothing publicly. DNH lacks the resources for systematic open publication. SIE Guinée's atlas references 2016–2017 production statistics only.
Technical Accessibility
15% of total score
No REST API, no machine-readable open dataset, and no structured download exists from any Guinean government or utility source. EDG's annual reports are PDF files behind a standard web page — the only accessible format, and they contain no reservoir data. SIE Guinée provides interactive ArcGIS maps (last updated 2017) with no export or API capability. The government portal (gouvernement.gov.gn) and Ministry site (mehh.gov.gn, expired certificate) are informational only. Chinese operators SOGES and SOGEKA share no public technical data whatsoever.
Coverage
30% of total score
Capacity-weighted (v1.3.0): 0/10,000 Mm³ = 0% (Souapiti 7,200 + Garafiri 1,355 + Kaléta + Fomi planned; EDG publishes no operational reservoir data). Prior justification (preserved for context): Denominator (RTI methodology): reservoirs with capacity >10 hm³. Guinea has approximately 5–7 reservoirs above this threshold: Souapiti (~7,200 Mm³), Garafiri (~1,600 Mm³), Kaleta (~23 Mm³, run-of-river), the smaller Tinkisso and Donkea impoundments, plus the Boyé/Banéah water-supply reservoirs serving Conakry. None has any sustained public data series. The June 2024 ministerial inspection note for Souapiti (186.2 m SMK) is the only quantitative figure ever released — a single point-in-time event. Coverage rate is 0/~6 sustained; 1/~6 (~17%) episodic. Score reflects total absence of operational reservoir data infrastructure for all qualifying facilities.
Historical Depth
13% of total score
No machine-readable historical reservoir data series is accessible from any Guinean source. SIE Guinée's energy atlas shows 2016–2017 generation statistics (not storage volumes). EDG annual reports (2015–2024) are PDF documents containing operational narratives and financial summaries, with no reservoir timeseries. Pre-Souapiti hydrological research from the DNH/IRD collaboration covers river flow, not reservoir storage. The BGS Earthwise hydrogeology page notes that Guinea's water data is 'relatively little documented' and managed 'in a fragmented project-based way'.
Update Frequency
10% of total score
No defined publication cycle for reservoir data exists. EDG publishes one annual PDF report per year, which contains no storage-level data. The only reservoir figure in the public domain (Souapiti water level, June 2024) was released as a government press item tied to a ministerial visit — an episodic political event, not a scheduled data release. No automated or periodic open feed of any kind has been identified. The military government since 2021 has not established any new transparency mechanisms for the energy sector.
Methodological Transparency
8% of total score
No public documentation describes how reservoir levels or storage volumes are measured at any Guinean facility. The single publicly cited measurement (Souapiti at 186.2 m using the 'SMK' — Système Métrique Konkouré — datum) appears in academic and HRW sources referencing project documents, but Guinea's government publishes no explanation of measurement standards, sensor networks, or validation procedures. Souapiti's Chinese operators (CWE/SOGES) follow internal protocols that are not disclosed. DNH has historically collected hydrometric data but lacks the resources to validate or publish methodological documentation.
Language and Usability
5% of total score
French is the sole language of all official Guinean government and utility communications. EDG's website, the government portal, SIE Guinée, and all ministerial releases are exclusively in French. No English-language interface, translation, or bilingual summary exists for any reservoir-related content. For international users, even the minimal French-language material that does exist is inaccessible without translation. The score is non-zero only because the French-language EDG annual reports are at least downloadable without registration, providing a theoretical pathway for French-speaking users.
Evaluator notes
Guinea holds one of Africa's most extraordinary hydropower endowments — the Fouta Djallon plateau feeds the headwaters of the Niger, Senegal, and Gambia rivers, and Souapiti (commissioned 2021, ~7,200 Mm³) is among the largest reservoirs built on the continent in the 21st century. Yet this vast infrastructure operates in near-total data opacity. The three major regulated reservoirs (Souapiti, Garafiri, Kaleta) are run by Chinese concessionaires (SOGES, SOGEKA under CWE/China Gezhouba Group) that publish no operational data; EDG acts as offtaker and distributor but has no open data mandate. The national SIE Guinée energy information system, built with African Development Bank support, reached prototype stage with a 2017 atlas but has not progressed to live or downloadable data. DNH, the hydrological authority, operates under severe resource constraints documented by IRD researchers: field stations are understaffed, data validation is irregular, and no public database is maintained. The military junta that seized power in September 2021 has not introduced any transparency reforms in the energy or water sector. The World Bank's 2024–2025 sector assessments note that EDG's customer revenues cover only 14% of operating costs and that sector arrears exceed USD 1.2 billion — a fiscal crisis that makes institutional data infrastructure investment unlikely in the near term. The sole public signal of reservoir monitoring was a June 2024 government press release reporting that Souapiti's level had fallen to 186.2 m (SMK datum), issued reactively after a power crisis, not as part of any systematic reporting cycle. Guinea scores in the bottom decile of the RTI 2026 index. The country's extraordinary hydrological potential makes the absence of transparent data particularly consequential: downstream states in Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau depend on Konkouré and Fouta Djallon water flows, and the lack of shared, open reservoir data undermines regional water diplomacy and flood risk management across the OMVG basin.
Evaluated by Jaime Delgado · 2026-09-15 · Methodology v1.3.0