Power Rationing: Over 7 more days for blackouts

Overcoming current power rationing is expensive and requires a pro-active response.

On-going power blackouts in Cameroon’s economic powerhouse, Douala, like in other areas of the country, tells of an uncertain future. What consumers are experiencing is not just power blackout attributed to falling wooden poles, aging infrastructure, and unforeseen technical problems, but a deliberate power rationing imputable to many factors whose root causes are as old as the power utility corporation.

The power utility corporation has promised that blackouts as a result of power rationing will be over in the next seven to ten days. Nana Kountchou, General Manager of the Energy of Cameroon, Eneo, flanked by two directors, addressed a news conference at its Douala-Koumassi office yesterday June 4, 2015, clarifying the public on the on-going power rationing.

He assured that the flow rate of Sanaga River has stabilised and storage in the Songloulou Dam will start rising in the next seven to ten days, substantiating his claims with meteorological forecasts that there will be heavy rains within the period.

The reason for programmed blackouts, which started some two weeks ago, is largely due to the drop in the storage of the dam from 1,000 cubic metres to 600 cubic metres. However, as the rains began falling heavily, storage rose to 625 cubic metres by June 3, 2015. Besides ageing infrastructure, there is the on-going replacement of power lines in major parts of Douala.

This entails putting in place lines that have the capacity to carry larger amounts of energy. Meanwhile, the Eneo officials urged the public to pray God for more rains to end the present situation. Another measure is that Eneo has negotiated with large consumers like ALUCAM to cut down on power consumption.

According to Ekang Esseing, National President of the Cameroon Association of Electricity and Water Companies, ASEELEC, to promise that blackouts will stop in a week sounds too simplistic. “Power rationing can be avoided if plants like those in Logbaba (Douala) and Kribi are up-to-date and new ones are set up to add sufficient energy to the 1,000 megawatts produced by Eneo.

The public must be sensitised to stop wasting energy, like it is in public buildings,” Ekang noted.