Cameroon rocked by serious power outages

For several weeks, the entire Cameroon has been shaken by vicious power cuts and the national electricity company has put the blame on the lack of rain and climate changes as reported on Koaci website.

The affected areas are the largest cities in Cameroon and the hinterland. They are the economic metropolis, Douala and its surrounding districts; the political capital Yaoundé and its 74 districts, Bafoussam in the West, Bertoua the capital of the Eastern Region; Bamenda and Buea (the two main English speaking cities) and the Northern Region.

According to Eneo, the firm in charge of operating the electricity sector, water crisis were the result of the power outages facing the country thereby causing disturbances in the supply of electricity.

The firm affirmed that, “because of the exhaustion of severe water stocks in our reservoirs and dams, electrical service in our country is currently experiencing strong turbulences since May 23, 2015”.

“Between April 23 and May 26, 2015, we recorded an unusual deficit of 1,600, 000,000 cubic meters of water, compared to the same period last year at Sanaga. Faced with this critical situation, our hydroelectric dam at Songloulou and Edea dams are unable to guarantee a level of power that can meet the current demand for electricity”, said Eneo to justify the reoccurrence of power cuts.

Experts from Eneo, stressed that the situation will last two to three weeks. Consequences will be felt during peak hours of the day and night time leaving the main streets of the cities, households, businesses without power. The reoccurrence of energy is generally accompanied by blackouts where some areas endure without power for several days.

This situation is a blow to economic operators. Traders and others have continually complained of a declining turnover. An ice cream vendor in Etoudi told Koaci that she has lost some customers due to the energy crisis.

However the progress being made according to the electricity operator seems not to convince many people. Many Cameroonians believe the electricity policy and the government as an authority is a failure.

According to our findings, the facilities at Eneo are old and the network is saturated. It was suggested that the government should review its distribution of energy plan.

Eneo has also announced a commissioning of a power generating facility in central Logbaba / Bassa (Douala) and Kribi, to absorb the current power deficit in the country.