(Business in Cameroon) – During a visit to the Nachtigal hydropower dam construction site on September 19, 2024, Cameroon’s Minister of Water and Energy, Gaston Eloundou Essomba, addressed the recent power outages affecting major cities like Yaoundé and Douala. He explained that the interruptions are linked to production issues, including the shutdown of the Kribi gas power plant in the South region.
“The Kribi gas plant is currently shut down due to a financial dispute between Eneo and the production company Globeleq, caused by unpaid energy bills. This has reduced the sector’s production capacity by at least 20%, leading to inconveniences for the population,” the minister told the press.
The Kribi plant, with a capacity of 216 MW, is vital to Cameroon’s electricity system. Along with the 88 MW Dibamba heavy fuel plant, both facilities—56% controlled by independent power producer Globeleq and 44% by the state—provide 20% of the country’s electricity supply. In a statement from May 14, 2024, Globeleq revealed that Eneo owes it over CFA100 billion in arrears, a problem that had already caused plant shutdowns in November and December 2023. Although the plants resumed operations after the government pledged CFA30 billion in payments on December 20, 2023, tensions remain high.
Eneo, Cameroon’s sole electricity distributor, faces its own financial hurdles, claiming that the government and public entities owe it over CFA200 billion. “The situation has worsened. The debt owed by public entities has nearly doubled from CFA167 billion in December 2022 to CFA266 billion in December 2023,” said Eneo CEO Amine Homman Ludiye in an interview with Business in Cameroon. He added that while investments have been made, the main challenge is now in the transmission and distribution sectors, which need significant investment.
Despite these challenges, Minister Eloundou Essomba expressed optimism. He believes efforts to boost energy production will significantly reduce the hardships caused by production shortfalls and weak transmission infrastructure. The recent commissioning of the third unit at the Nachtigal dam, which now provides 180 MW of its planned 420 MW to the southern interconnected grid, is a step forward. The next focus is ensuring the availability of transmission infrastructure.
“We will continue our inspection along the transmission lines to Douala to ensure the schedule is aligned and that the energy produced at Nachtigal can be delivered in real time,” the minister said.
