Cameroon’s state-owned electricity company is seeking financial breathing room as the government tries to stabilize the country’s troubled power sector.
Socadel, the public utility created from the transformation of Eneo into a state-owned company, could raise CFA150 billion from a group of local banks to refinance part of its short-term debt.
The operation appears in the Ministry of Water and Energy’s 2026-2028 restructuring plan. The goal is to convert the company’s current short-term bank facilities into longer-maturity debt. Under the proposed structure, treasury loans and short-term liabilities estimated at about CFA177 billion would be refinanced through a local bank loan of at least CFA150 billion. The financing would run over seven years, with a grace period of up to two years.
According to ministry projections, the debt restructuring would reduce monthly pressure on Socadel’s cash flow. Authorities estimate savings of about CFA2.5 billion on principal repayments and around CFA200 million on interest payments.
But the challenge goes far beyond a simple banking operation. The same restructuring document estimates the former Eneo’s total debt at nearly CFA850 billion. It also places the company’s monthly cash-flow deficit at around …
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