(Business in Cameroon) - For about a month now, the electricity supply has been improving on the Northern Interconnected Network (NIN), electric utility ENEO informs.

“Households are now experiencing power supply continuity from 5 pm to 7 am and, in the daytime, rationing periods have been reduced to 5 hours, down from 8 hours previously,” ENEO adds.

The electric utility explains that these performances are all thanks to the improvement in the operations of the Djamboutou thermal power plant (32 MW), the installation of an additional 4 MW at the Ngaoundéré thermal power plant, as well as the optimized production at the Lagdo hydroelectric dam.

ENEO nevertheless points out that the supply is not stable yet because of several factors. The first is the extreme demand on the thermal power plants, the Djamboutou plant notably. The second factor is the spare parts supply difficulties that are hindering the maintenance of various equipment. Another factor is the extreme heat that is strongly boosting energy demands (because of a rise in the use of fans and other cooling equipment). Finally, there are also extremely high fuel costs (an additional XAF3 billion monthly fuel cost is now required to ensure operations at the new Gaoura and Ngaoundéré power plants).
 
Despite the dismantling of the 20 MW Ahala power plant (in Yaoundé) and its effective installation in Garoua (12 MW) in January 2021, and Ngaoundéré (8 MW) in February 2021, the North, Adamaoua, and Far North residents were still battling with repeated outages.
 
At the end of a recent visit to the north, Minister of Water and Energy Gaston Eloundou Essomba instructed ENEO to address the problems by April 12, 2021, the beginning of Ramadan. Instructions were also given to ensure that the energy generated by the thermal power plants (Garoua and Ngaoundéré) is available to supply households between 6 pm and 10 pm in the worst-case scenario.
 
 Sylvain Andzongo