Alcan

An Assessment of the Cameroonian Electricity Sector Reform

In 2001, AES Corporation was the sole bidder in the sale of the Cameroonian electricity company. In accordance with the World Bank’s third structural adjustment credit project, the state–owned company was sold. Since then, consumers face regular blackouts and tariff increases and some investments have been made in new generation capacity. A new regulatory body has been set up, but it is not fully operative. With many sub–Saharan countries under similar pressure to sell their public utilities, this paper contributes to the understanding, assessment, and analysis of privatisation reforms.

Lom Pangar Dam Fact Sheet

Terri Hathaway (IRN) and Halleson Durrell (GVC)

The government of Cameroon is currently considering building the Lom Pangar Dam, a project that would displace rural villagers, flood protected forests, and increase the vulnerability of Cameroon’s economy to climate change. Increased hydropower generation downstream of Lom Pangar would mostly go to a large, foreign–owned aluminum smelter, which is expected to continue receiving below–cost electricity rates subsidized by residential ratepayers. The dam has been discussed for over a decade, but with a growing national energy crisis, the Cameroonian government has recently intensified efforts to obtain financing for the project.

1. The Wrong Solution for a Warming World
Lom Pangar would be the fourth dam¹ built to help regulate the Sanaga River for the benefit of the country’s two primary hydropower dams, Song Loulou (384 MW) and Edea (264 MW). These run–of–river hydropower dams have experienced significant reductions in power generation due to dry seasons exacerbated by drought. The Government of Cameroon hopes the Lom Pangar Dam will increase these dams’ ability to generate power during dry periods by an estimated 105 MW to 216 MW.² This increased electricity would assist the southern Cameroon grid’s capacity, where the Alucam aluminum smelter is seeking to double its production.³

This joint report reveals how the aluminum industry in Cameroon is being prioritized over the energy needs of the country’s majority population, at great social and environmental risk, and without a participatory planning process for energy development.

While less than 5% of households in Cameroon have access to electricity, the government is intensifying efforts to build the Lom Pangar Dam, which would allow a major expansion of the Alucam aluminum smelter at the expense of residential consumers and local businesses.