Cameroon has installed electric generation capacity of 817 megawatts (MW), of which 88% is hydroelectric and 12% is thermal. The country’s two main hydro stations, Edea and Song-Loulou, are located on the Sananga River , while the smaller Lagdo station is located near Garoua. Successful development of Cameroon ’s estimated 500,000 MW of hydroelectric potential could make the country a net electricity exporter in the future. Presently, however, Cameroon ’s heavy reliance on hydropower leaves its electricity sector extremely vulnerable to droughts. Cameroon relies on approximately 30 aging diesel power stations as back-up facilities, the largest of which are located in Garoua (20.0 MW), Douala (15.4 MW), and Yaounde (10.8 MW).
AES-SONEL has managed generation and distribution of Cameroon’s electricity has since 2001 when US-based AES Corporation purchased a majority stake in the state-run Société Nationale d’Electricité de Cameroun (SONEL). AES-SONEL has undergone notable privatisation in 2001. Although AES-SONEL maintains a customer base of approximately 427,000, most of Cameroon ’s population does not have access to electricity. Those who have electricity are often subject to brownouts. AES-SONEL plans to invest US$500 million between 2003 and 2009 to improve the Cameroonian network, starting with the completion of a new 85-MW, oil-fired plant at Limbe in August 2004. The company has plans for additional hydroelectric plants, as well as Cameroon ’s first natural gas-fired plant at Kribi, to be operational by 2007. In October 2003, AES-SONEL and the government adopted a new electricity tariff structure to reduce electricity costs for residential customers.
Cameroon is a member of the Energy Pool of Africa, which aspires to eventually connect the electricity grids of all members of the Central Africa Economic Community (CEEAC). AES-SONEL and France ’s Électricité de France (EDF) have conducted studies concerning a Chad-Cameroon interconnector project in the near future.
In March 2004, AES-SONEL announced plans to increase Cameroon ’s energy supply through the extension of the Logbaba thermal station in Douala and the conversion of the heavy oil thermal station in Oyomabong, Yaounde . Construction has yet to begin on a proposed dam over the Lom and Pangar rivers. The Cameroonian government, in conjunction with AES-SONEL, expects completion of the dam by 2008.
