• Cameroon launches 20,000 smart electricity meters to improve monitoring and billing accuracy

• World Bank-backed project aims to reduce losses, fraud, and revenue leakages

• Initiative forms part of a broader $710 million electricity sector reform programme

Cameroon's Ministry of Water and Energy (MINEE) announced on Wednesday, May 27, the launch of a nationwide deployment of 20,000 smart electricity meters, a move aimed at improving consumption monitoring, reducing technical losses and enhancing billing accuracy across the country's power sector.

The project is backed by the World Bank under the Electricity Sector Reform Programme (PRSEC-PforR) and relies on Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) technology capable of automatically transmitting electricity consumption data. According to MINEE, the system will enable real-time monitoring of energy use and improve the detection of anomalies, fraud and non-technical losses that have long strained the sector's finances.

Implementation is being overseen by the Programme Coordination Unit within MINEE, in partnership with Cameroon's national electricity company Socadel (formerly Eneo). Following technical trials conducted between January and February 2026, the equipment passed final acceptance in April, paving the way for a phased rollout. A data centre is also under construction in Douala to centralise and secure information collected by the smart meters.

The initiative is part of the Electricity Sector Recovery Plan (PRSEC), a broader reform agenda running from 2024 to 2026 and valued at nearly 400 billion CFA francs ($710 million). The programme is supported by 180 billion CFA francs in World Bank financing and an additional 48 billion CFA francs from the African Development Bank.

Beyond smart metering, the PRSEC includes a range of infrastructure upgrades aimed at improving service quality, including network expansion, the reinforcement of electrical substations, the replacement of more than 50,000 wooden utility poles, and the gradual migration of 1.5 million postpaid customers to prepaid meters.

For Cameroonian authorities, the digitalisation of electricity metering is a key tool for strengthening energy governance, securing operator revenues and keeping pace with rising power demand driven by the country's urban and industrial growth.

Samira Njoya