Industrialists, Key Actors in the Electricity: GECAM Visits Eneo Cameroon
The Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Cameroon Employer’s Groupment (GECAM) and some members visited the Edea Hydro-electrical Power Plant on 21 June 2024. The visit to the oldest dam and discussions with ENEO’s General Manager enabled them to “better understand the issue of power supply in Cameroon,” stated the chairperson of GECAM, Celestin Tawamba.
"ENEO is one of the actors in the electricity sector and electricity is a strategic domain for Cameroon’s development. GECAM embodies Cameroon’s industrial and economic strength. Consequently, it is only normal for ENEO to open up, to present its achievements and challenges, and to also understand the constraints faced by GECAM members. This transparency-oriented approach aims to help all sector actors, alongside the Government of the Republic, provide customised solutions to continuously improve on the supply of electricity. This will help guarantee the country’s economic growth, boost job creation, and position Cameroon as a competitive destination in the region, and even beyond… ,” explained Amine Homman Ludiye, the General Manager, delighted to receive GECAM in this industrial facility commissioned in the 50s and that is still one of the leading contributors to national generation with its installed capacity of 276 MWs.
GECAM members discovered old installations in excellent working conditions, as well as equipment modernised over the years with cutting-edge technology within the framework of ENEO’s investment programmes. This aims to ensure that this infrastructure continues to play its core role in overall generation of the country’s electricity. “Edea sufficiently illustrates the efforts ENEO makes to safeguard and develop the generation infrastructure it is responsible for but also to improve on electricity distribution. Between 2004 and today, approximately 100 billion have been invested to safeguard and transform the Edea plant,” the General Manager revealed.
“We are leaving here satisfied. Despite its age, this plant has been modernised, with practices for continuous improvement, as well as regular and high-level maintenance. We would like to encourage the Government and ENEO. I was distinctly proud to see highly-devoted patriots. We also understood that the power supply problem from a generation perspective has been practically resolved given current demand and current projects, and that issues relating to transmission and distribution networks will be resolved. This information will enable us improve on our advocacy and better support the state in its search for solutions. Furthermore, they will make it possible to reassure investors about the proper handling of the power supply issue, to drive Cameroon’s attractiveness in coming years,”declared Celestin Tawamba after the visit.
ENEO plays an important role in the sector’s new funding strategy elaborated by the Government, under the World Bank’s Program for Results (PforR ). One of its main objectives is to consolidate the finances of the electricity sector, by boosting the installation of prepaid and smart meters in State entities, as well as the installation of 2 million prepaid meters.
These measures will entail speeding up extension and modernisation of transmission as well as distribution infrastructure to meet current and future needs, especially those of the country’s industrial customers.
In the short-term, industrial demand is estimated at about 400 megawatts, while in the medium term it is estimated at over 700 megawatts.
The visit from GECAM comes two days after “Energy Afters” — the networking evening ENEO organised for its industrials customers —, during which several topics were discussed: sector structure (stakeholders and their respective role), financial imbalance in the sector (tariffs, debts, fraud and its impact), the state of the energy available with the first megawatts from Nachtigal, attendant constraints, industrial demand, and energy saving for industrial customers among others.
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About Eneo: Historical Operator in the Electricity Sector in Cameroon
Eneo has as ambition to safely supply clean and sustainable energy, at an affordable price. It works to provide reliable service quality, while being a governance model in Africa.
Integrity, cohesion, respect and commitment are the fundamental values around which Eneo builds its identity. They are central to the performance of our public service missions, but also to satisfy our customers and more generally all our stakeholders. With 3,664 employees spread out across our main business activities of power generation, distribution and commercialisation, Eneo invests daily to improve on the quality of electricity supplied. Our employees are proud to belong to a resilient company engineering its transformation to become a driving force and catalyst of growth.
Eneo is a semi-public company with 51% of its capital held by the Actis group, 44% by the State of Cameroon and 5% by its employees.
Find more information about the company on www.eneocameroon.cm
Media Contact: Babette Sandjo | 691 836 060 | [email protected]
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