(Ecofin Agency) - On October 8, a newcomer has arrived in Cameroon’s power sector. It is the National Company for power distribution (SONATREL in French). According to the presidential decree from which Sonatrel emerged and published on October 8 also, this state-owned firm will be in charge of “distributing power and managing the distribution network for government”.

To be more explicit, Sonatrel is to handle ‘the exploitation, maintenance and development of the public power distribution network and its interconnections with other networks ; the power flux transiting through the distribution network the planification, conduct studies, the establishment of infrastructures and power distribution institutions as well as research, funding management, etc.

With the arrival of this new operator, Eneo will now focus on producing and commercializing; EDC will manage the dams and will be paid its right to water by Eneo. AER will boost rural electrification whilst Arsel is to continue acting as the police for the whole power sector.

Considering the state of the network it is to handle, Sonatrel has a lot of work to do. In fact, experts suggest that more than 50% of Cameroon’s streetlamps should be replaced for they are defective. According to Eneo’s plans, about 700 billion FCFA should be invested in the Cameroonian power distribution network over the next 10 years to modernize it.

A study conducted by Cameroon’s power sector regulator reveals that 6.5% of generated energy is loss during transport whilst 29% of this energy evaporate due to the various frauds characterizing the distribution system but also because of the equipment of poor quality.

BRM