(Business in Cameroon) - Earlier today, July 18, the reservoir of the 420MW Nachtigal dam was impounded. During a press briefing on the sidelines of the event, Minister of Water and Energy Gaston Eloundou Essomba announced the final commissioning of the infrastructure for September 2024. This means that the dam will deliver its full 420 MW from that date, just 10 months after the commissioning of the first unit (60 MW), scheduled for December 2023.

"(...) According to the project schedule, the other six units of the power plant will be progressively commissioned over the course of 2024, to reach the final commissioning of the facility in September 2024. By this date, all generating capacity will have been installed and commissioned. The plant will provide 420 MW of power, enabling annual electricity production of around 2970 GWh to be fed into the Southern Interconnected Grid," said Gaston Eloundou Essomba.

"In the current context, much of the energy generated by the Nachtigal dam, at a cost of 42 CFA Francs per kWh, will replace the energy produced by thermal power plants, whose production cost per kWh reaches 200 CFA Francs for those running on diesel, i.e. a saving per kWh of 158 FCFA. In essence, the completion and final commissioning of this power plant in 2024 will increase the supply of electrical energy in the national system by 30%, reduce subsidies linked to the over-use of fuels and reduce the carbon footprint," he added detailing the benefits of this almost CFAF800 billion investment.

The Nachtigal dam is also expected to improve the level of electrification in Cameroon's three northern regions "as early as 2026" with the “effective interconnection between the southern and northern parts” of the country, he explained. 

BRM