AfDB-funded project to reduce severe power cuts in Cameroon

The national electricity supply in Cameroon is highly unreliable and subjected to power cuts. The last significant electric system outage, which lasted eight hours, occurred last March and affected several of the country's regions (the Far North, North, Littoral, Adamaoua, South and Centre regions).

In 2010-2011, the African Development Bank financed three projects that are finally starting to provide long-suffering people living in Cameroon with much more reliable electricity. Completion of work on transport lines, line maintenance and especially the replacement of wooden electricity transport poles with concrete poles are all part of the system improvements, whose goal is to increase the quality and reliability of public access to electricity.

Although the Lom Pangar storage reservoir project is completed, the electricity producing plant is still under construction. Two other power plants, Kribi and Dibamba, have begun working to enhance Cameroon's generating capacity. The African Development Bank had given USD 62.9 million for the construction of Lom Pangar during the end of 2011. This is considered as the hydroelectric generation's 'lungs' in the Cemeroon's east region.

The project included the construction of a reservoir (6 billion cubic meters of water retained) for regulating the Sanaga's flow and optimising generation during low water periods at the Song Loulou plant (335 MW) and the Edea plant (224 MW). The production from these two plants has grown from 450 MW in 2011 to 729 MW now.

"The Lom-Pangar dam will help save water in other reservoirs," said Theodore Nsangou, the General Director of the Electricity Development Corporation (EDC), in an interview with a government publication in March last year.

The AfDB has also awarded a funding package of USD154.8 million for the completion of this generating plant. Other development partners, such as the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and Proparco, are also involved.