My op-ed in Cameroun Actuel: Electricity in Cameroon, three priorities to turn nationalisation into a lasting success
Cameroun Actuel
Cameroun Actuel is a leading general-news portal covering Cameroonian and African current affairs — politics, the economy, energy and society.
The op-ed
In May 2026, Cameroon reached a major turning point in its energy history: the renationalisation of its electricity operator, ENEO, renamed SOCADEL (Société Camerounaise d’Électricité). After twenty-five years of private management marked by chronic outages, insufficient investment and tariff tensions, the state is taking back the reins of a strategic sector.
In this op-ed, I analyse the conditions for making this transition a lasting success and identify three priority workstreams: SOCADEL’s governance and operational autonomy, the mobilisation of the financing needed to meet the 2030 capacity targets, and the improvement of grid reliability to end the load-shedding that weighs on households and the economy.
Renationalisation is not an end in itself: it will only make sense if it comes with a clear strategy, robust governance and a renewed ambition for universal access to electricity.