Power shortages are holding back industry in Central Africa. In Cameroon, delays to a second transmission line from the 420-megawatt Nachtigal dam leave 150 megawatts of industrial demand waiting for supply, Investir au Cameroun reported on 9 October. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Teddy Lwamba, head of the state utility SNEL, told Kinshasa’s provincial deputies on 10 October that rolling cuts stem from output below demand, broken machines, slow purchases of spare parts, vandalism and fraud. Factories left without grid power must rely on costly diesel while oil prices are high, and new transmission projects will take years to close the gap.
Sources
- Investir au Cameroun: https://www.investiraucameroun.com/gestion-publique/0910-23943-electricite-le-2eme-corridor-de-transport-sur-nachtigal-cumule-les-retards-150-mw-de-demande-industrielle-en-attente
- 7sur7.cd: https://7sur7.cd/2026/10/11/delestage-kinshasa-le-dg-de-la-snel-teddy-lwamba-explique-les-causes-et-mise-sur-la
- Agence Ecofin: https://www.agenceecofin.com/actualites-infrastructures/1110-142303-apres-l-ouganda-gridworks-sinteresser-a-un-projet-de-transmission-electrique-entre-la-zambie-et-la-rdc