Cameroon’s electricity sector lost an estimated CFA4.65 billion (about USD7.6 million) in revenue in 2024 due to a long-standing pricing discrepancy between prepaid and postpaid tariff structures, the Electricity Sector Regulatory Agency (Arsel) reported in its 2024 sector review. The shortfall arose because prepaid electricity tariffs were not aligned with the regulated tariff grid that has applied to postpaid customers since 2012, and the harmonisation mandated by Arsel was only fully implemented on November 1, 2024.
For several years, Arsel flagged significant differences between the rates prepaid customers were charged and the official postpaid tariff structure, differences tied to billing brackets, pricing mechanisms and the average cost per kilowatt-hour. In 2022 the regulator instructed Cameroon’s main power distributor, Eneo, to eliminate that gap by applying the regulated postpaid tariff grid to the prepaid customer base as well. However, due to delays in implementing the directive, the prepaid pricing continued under outdated terms for most of 2024, contributing to the revenue shortfall.
Arsel recalculated the value of prepaid energy based on the postpaid tariff structure and determined that the electricity system lost CFA4.65 billion in potential earnings during the 2024 fiscal year. That amount was retrospectively treated as an “overcollection” for accounting purposes and deducted from the sector’s Regulated Margin Account (RMA).
The tariff realignment finally took effect in late 2024 following consultations between Arsel, Eneo and consumer associations in meetings held in Mbankomo in March 2023 and in Yaoundé in October 2024. Under the new structure, residential tariffs are tiered by consumption bands, with prices ranging from CFA50 per kilowatt-hour for the lowest consumption bracket to CFA99 at higher usage levels, aligning prepaid and postpaid billing for fairness and improved revenue mobilisation.
Authorities and sector analysts say that properly aligning tariffs is expected to help reduce revenue losses and improve the financial sustainability of Cameroon’s power system, which has faced ongoing funding challenges amid broader electricity sector reform efforts.
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