The news was announced by the Minister of Water and Energy. Gaston Eloundou Essomba announced the commissioning by September 2023.


On 18 July, the Minister of Water and Energy was visiting the Nachtigal dam on the Sanaga river, 65 km from Yaounde. It was an opportunity for him to witness the filling of the reservoir at the Nachtigal dam , which has a generating capacity of 420 MW. He took the opportunity to highlight the commercial commissioning of the dam,

“According to the project schedule, the other six units of the power plant will be commissioned gradually by september 2024. By then, the entire generating capacity will have been installed and commissioned. The plant will have a capacity of 420 MW and will be able to supply approximately 2,970 GWh of electricity per year to the Southern Interconnected Grid,” said Gaston Eloundou Essomba.

According to the minister, the commercial operation of the dam will bring some relief in terms of the cost of kilowatts: “A large part of the energy produced by the Nachtigal dam, at a cost of 42 FCFA per kWh, will replace the energy produced by thermal power stations, whose production cost per kWh reaches the level of 200 FCFA for those that run on diesel, i.e. a cost of about 50 FCFA per kWh”.

Furthermore, he underscores that the completion and commercial operation, plant in 2024 will lead to a 30% increase in the supply of electrical energy to the national grid, a reduction in subsidies linked to the excessive use of fuels and a reduction in the carbon footprint. As the member of the government points out, the Nachtigal dam should make it possible to improve the electrification rate in the three northern regions of Cameroon, “with the effective interconnection between the southern and northern parts of the country from 2026”.