Cameroon's journey toward affordable, reliable, and universal electricity access for all

In the early morning, the senior nurse Sandrine Nguele is attending her patients in the very busy medical center of the village of Batchenga which benefits from being connected to the grid since last October. The village located an hour and a half drive from the capital of Yaoundé, Cameroon, is getting clean and renewable energy from the Nachtigal Hydro Power Plant.

“When the hospital was without electricity, it was not well attended, we could go three days without patients,” says Sandrine Nguele. “Since we have been connected to electricity, we have seen an increase in attendance and revenue. People no longer need to go to the district hospital located 20km from here to have their test and other exams done”.

In Cameroon, access to power remains a critical developmental challenge. Despite substantial government subsidies and vast hydropower potential, only 71% of the population has electricity access, and the cost is among the highest in the region. In rural Cameroon, 75% of the population remains without electricity, even though many live near the grid. This stark reality affects small businesses and citizens alike. Affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy is essential—powering hospitals, maintaining cold chains and enabling businesses to thrive. For many entrepreneurs, the high cost of electricity is a significant barrier to staying operational and competitive.

In Cameroon, the need for power is a significant developmental challenge facing the country. Despite government subsidies and a huge hydropower potential, only 71% of the population has access to electricity, and—the cost to consumers is high for the region. This is the hard reality for many small businesses and citizens across the country. For any country and its people, access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy is a lifeline from keeping hospitals and health centers operational to securing cold chains and small businesses open. The high cost of electricity is often quoted as one of the main obstacles for entrepreneurs to remain open for business.

The completion of the Nachtigal Hydropower plant and the injection of 360MW from 6 out of 7 turbines as of mid-January 2025, is a real game changer for Cameroon. It will add almost 30% of renewable energy to the generation mix. and constitutes the first phase of a sustainable hydropower development roadmap on the Sanaga river. The additional energy will ultimately provide the entire population and businesses with more affordable, reliable, and clean power.

This was possible thanks to the mobilization of $1 billion in private capital leveraged by guarantees from the World Bank and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), as well as equity participation from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group focused on the private sector. Other financing institutions including the African Development Bank have also joined forces.

Bringing Electricity to the People

The government of Cameroon has set an ambitious vision to expand access to electricity, increase the use of renewable energy, boost power generation, and strengthen transmission capacity to meet a surge in demand, projected to quadruple by 2035. Central to this vision is the completion of the Nachtigal Hydropower Plant, a transformative project driving the country’s energy future. Recent milestones include the completion of the Nyom II substation, and the first phase of associated transmission lines needed to evacuate energy from Nachtigal. These developments have significantly improved energy absorption for households and industries connected to the Southern Interconnected Network.

Batchenga’s medical center is just one example of the growing reach of electrification efforts. More than 140,000 households in the rural areas of the Center region have gained access to reliable electricity over the past year. These connections are achieved through grid extension, mini-grids, and off-grids solutions via the Rural Electricity Access Project for Underserved Regions, and solar photovoltaic (PV) installations that replace diesel-based thermal generation.

Renewable Energy to Reduce Carbon Emissions and Costs

Cameroon is embracing renewable energy to lower costs and cut carbon emissions. The grid is increasingly substituting diesel-based regional grids and off-grid generation and kerosene lighting, which emit black carbon—a major contributor to climate change.

The country is striving to green its electricity generation mix by advancing solar PV development, with the target of 250MW installed capacity. Expansions are underway at existing solar plants in Maroua and Guider. Innovative solutions, such as modular, pre-assembled solar PV power containers with battery storage, will further support the growing electricity demand with cost-effective, reliable, and renewable energy.

From the bustling medical center of Batchenga to the ambitious hydropower project of Nachtigal, Cameroon is joining the Mission 300 movement, which aims to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030. Each step—whether extending the grid to rural communities or cutting carbon emissions through renewable energy—moves the nation closer to a brighter, more sustainable future.