A workshop to finalise the drawing up of a national strategy and action plan held on Thursday December 5,2013.

The government of Cameroon has embraced Energy Efficiency, the reduction of unnecessary cost on electricity usually linked to wastage in transportation and unsustainable use by households and industries. With the support of the Partnership Development Facility of the European Union Energy, the country has drawn up an Energy Efficiency Strategy and Action Plan for the electricity sector that will serve as a guide to electricity consumers for the sustainable use of the scarce resource.  

Speaking yesterday December 5 during the final workshop to draw up the plan, the General Manager of the Electricity Sector Regulatory Agency (ARSEL), Jean Pierre Kedi, said within the framework of ARSEL’s mission of supervising electricity prices, the agency wants to encourage the use of existing electricity efficiency potentials and the corresponding cost savings in electricity supply. Yesterday’s workshop was to propose an enabling institutional and regulatory framework, develop an arsenal  of well adapted incentives such as fiscal measures, specific tariffs to encourage biomass, quality standards and certification of energy auditors as well as appropriate financial measures for private sector intervention.

Mr. Kedi said Cameroon will gain a lot by implementing the Efficiency Energy Policy. “It is worth noting that one franc saved in efficiently managing energy permits to save more than 20 francs in new energy projects. So far, we are losing about 35 per cent of our energy through transmission lines and distribution,” he said. A view corroborated by the Project Manager, Ingmar Stelter, who said there is need to address the issue of energy efficiency because people are spending so much on energy. “If there are 35 per cent loses, it means people are paying 35 per cent more than what they would have paid using the same amount of energy. Households and industries can reduce their electricity bills and also allow many people to benefit. We spend so much to generate energy but waste much of it in inefficiency use. It is cheaper to avoid waste than put up new generations,” he said.