Access to electricity: the Southern Interconnected Network now benefits from the very first 60 megawatts from the Nachtigal hydroelectric plant.
The synchronization operation was carried out this Friday, May 10, 2024 by the Minister of Water and Energy, Gaston Eloundou Essomba, accompanied by the Ministers of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Alamine Ousmane Mey and the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze.
The first 60 megawatts from the Nachtigal dam were injected into the Southern Interconnected Grid (RIS) on Friday, May 10, 2024, by the Minister of Water and Energy, and should eventually help to reduce the energy deficit. With 420 megawatts in the pipeline, Nachtigal will eventually be the country's largest and most powerful power station. This long-awaited energy lung is destined to improve the rate of access to electricity in Cameroon, covering up to 30% of the population's needs. According to Vincent Leroux, CEO of NHPC, "The 50 km of transmission lines have already been completed, and all the teams on site are mobilized to produce the first megawatts. Our partners, who have placed their trust in us, are very much looking forward to this.
In the field, more than 3,000 workers are hard at work to meet the commissioning deadline. For the Minister of Water and Energy, "we're facing a glaring deficit between supply and demand, which is why the country still relies on fossil fuel sources to produce energy. This has an environmental cost, and a very high financial cost, because here we're going to generate a kilowatt/hour at just 42frs, whereas with the power plants we produce nearly 30% of our energy, we're at nearly 200frs per kilowatt/hour. Industries produce almost the equivalent of this dam for their own account, with an overproduction of around 450 megawatts. With this start to production, the government is working to meet demand so that energy can be fully absorbed.».
Clément Noumsi
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