The population of the North West Region will hardly talk good of the National Electricity Corporation, AES-SONEL. The reason is simple; electricity supply in the area is to say the least, disappointing. Unannounced cuts here and there. A normal inhabitant of the region will tell you simply, that there is no electricity in the North West. Whether or not this is an exaggeration, is another issue.

Authorities of the Ministry of Energy attribute the situation to the growing population and economic activities in the agglomerations through which the electricity line passes before reaching the North West. In effect, the North West taps its electricity from the country’s southern

electricity grid generated from the Songloulou Hydropower plant and transmitted via other heavy consumption areas such as Bekoko, Nkongsamba, and Bafoussam. The situation is worsened by the absence of reliable generation points along this route. With the increase in population and consequently the demand for power, this has incidentally affected supply over the years. “These areas are served at best 15 hours per day, an official of the Ministry of Energy and Water, said.

Faced with this situation, many enterprises in the region have resorted to acquiring generators which they use as alternatives during cuts. In fact, those who are unable to do so are regarded as less serious business people. And so, possessing a generator in the North West has become a normalcy. The crisis finally reached a stage government could not remain indifferent. The announcement by the Head of State of the temporary project which consists in providing the region with a 20 MW diesel-fired thermal plant to be constructed in Bamenda brought a big sigh of relief.

This project falls within the framework of the 100 MW scheme of the Government’s Emergency Power Programme (EMPP). The EMPP is a stop-gap measure to ensure continuity of power supply to the economy in the face of power shortages, until long-term power supply projects go operational. The EMPP, according to Dudley Achu Sama, Technical Adviser at the Ministry of Energy and Water, will be emplemented in two phases with power plants to be installed in four locations ; Yaounde, Bamenda, Ebolowa, and Mbalmayo. Phase one which consists in implanting 40 MW has been contracted for installation and commissioning at three localities, Bamenda (20 MW), Ebolowa (10 MW), and Mbalmayo (10 MW). “Financing has been fully secured and is available”, he said, stating that the main contract has been issued and the contractor notified to proceed with construction.