Power rationing has begun across northern Cameroon, with electricity cuts scheduled to last several hours in multiple cities in the Adamawa, North and Far North regions, the country’s power utility Eneo said, citing low hydropower output and constraints on the electricity grid.
In a load-shedding schedule released this week, Eneo said outages would take effect from January 20 across areas supplied by the Northern Interconnected Grid, which serves the three northern regions. The measures come as the dry season reduces water availability at the Lagdo hydropower dam, the main source of electricity for the region.
In Adamawa, Eneo said parts of the regional capital Ngaoundéré would be without power from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., while other towns in the region are scheduled to experience outages either from midnight to 7 a.m. or from 6 p.m. to midnight.
Similar measures have been announced in the North region. In Garoua, the region’s main city, electricity is scheduled to be cut on January 20 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Other localities affected include Tcholliré, Figuil, Guider, Dembo and Mayo Oulo, according to the utility.
In the Far North region, Eneo said rationing would affect most major towns, including Maroua, Bogo, Maga, Kaélé, Yagoua, Kousséri and Mora. Mokolo was listed as the only major city in the region not included in the current load-shedding plan.
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Eneo linked the outages to a combination of hydrological, technical and financial factors. In a statement dated January 16, the company said the onset of the dry season had placed the national power system under strain, disrupting electricity supply in several areas connected to both the Southern and Northern Interconnected Grids.
The three northern regions rely almost entirely on the Northern Interconnected Grid, whose primary generation source is the Lagdo hydropower dam on the Benue River. According to Eneo, rainfall levels recorded in 2025 across the Benue basin were insufficient to allow the Lagdo reservoir to reach optimal capacity.
“This situation has resulted in reduced production at the Lagdo plant,” the utility said, adding that the problem has been worsened by what it described as a severe low-water period in the dam’s catchment area.
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Hydropower accounts for the bulk of Cameroon’s electricity generation, leaving the system vulnerable to seasonal and climate-related fluctuations. During the dry season, lower river flows often translate into reduced generation, particularly in the north, which has limited alternative sources of power.
Eneo said the challenges go beyond hydrology. The company pointed to structural constraints on the transmission and distribution network, including saturation of certain transmission lines and the fragility of parts of the distribution grid. These factors, it said, have forced the operator to implement rationing across the entire Northern Interconnected Grid to maintain system stability.
To compensate for variations in hydropower output, the Northern Interconnected Grid is supported by six thermal power plants. Eneo said their combined installed capacity is about 72 megawatts, but stressed that their operation depends heavily on the availability of fuel.
The utility said fuel supply for the thermal plants has been affected by financial difficulties, limiting its ability to run the units at full capacity during periods of peak demand or hydropower shortfalls. As a result, thermal generation has been unable to fully offset the decline in output from Lagdo.
The power cuts are expected to affect households, businesses and public services in a region already facing economic and security challenges. Northern Cameroon has in recent years experienced recurrent electricity shortages, with outages often intensifying during the dry season.
Eneo warned that similar concerns are emerging in southern Cameroon, where water levels are also declining. The utility said low levels have been observed in the Sanaga basin, which hosts three major hydropower dams, as well as in the Ntem basin, where the Memve’ele hydropower plant is located.
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While no immediate rationing has been announced for the south, Eneo said the situation is being closely monitored, as prolonged dry conditions could further strain the national power system in the coming month
