The Cameroonian government has approved Prometal’s request to secure 90 megawatts of electricity directly from the Electricity Development Corporation (EDC), the state-owned power utility. Final contract negotiations will unfold from June 8 to 12, 2026, at the Prime Minister’s office in Yaoundé, following a directive issued on June 1, 2026, by Secretary-General Séraphin Magloire Fouda to the Minister of Water and Energy, Gaston Eloundou Essomba.
Prometal joins Alucam as Cameroon’s second direct dam supplier
Key discussions will center on the custom pricing framework established for Prometal since February 2025 and the finalization of contractual terms. Two agreements will be executed: a supply contract between EDC and the steel manufacturer, and a compensation arrangement between EDC and Socadel, the newly restructured entity spun off from Eneo. Once signed, Prometal will become the second industrial player in Cameroon to draw power directly from dams, following the Compagnie camerounaise de l’Aluminium (Alucam).
The precedent set by Alucam looms large in this model. Long recognized as Cameroon’s largest electricity consumer—accounting for up to 40% of national output—the aluminum giant sources its power directly from the Edéa dam. Like the Songloulou facility, Edéa now falls under Socadel’s management. In contrast, Prometal will draw electricity from EDC-operated dams, specifically Lom Pangar (with a 30 MW foot unit) and Memve’élé, whose peak output reaches 211 MW.
Prometal’s energy demand triples in three years
This direct supply shift aligns with Prometal’s rapid industrial expansion. With five active plants in the Douala-Bassa industrial zone—Prometal 1, 2, and 3, Profab, and Progaz—the company’s electricity needs surged from 26 MW in 2024 to 40 MW in 2025. Projections for 2026 and 2027 anticipate 60 MW and 90 MW respectively, driven by the upcoming launch of Proalu, a sixth facility dedicated to aluminum sheet and electrical cable production.
For a heavyweight industrial operation like Prometal, securing reliable power and controlling per-kilowatt costs are critical to competitiveness. Traditional grid constraints—marked by chronic imbalances between generation, transmission, and distribution—could no longer sustain such growth without disrupting production. Direct supply from EDC introduces a pricing model tied to hydropower rights, bypassing downstream inefficiencies.
EDC leverages Prometal’s demand to fund new projects
Behind the official narrative, EDC’s financial incentives are clear. The corporation generates revenue through water rights fees and reinvests proceeds into new infrastructure. However, payment delays from Socadel, its longstanding client, have strained this model. Prometal’s entry as a creditworthy counterparty injects liquidity into EDC’s cash flow. Insiders highlight pending projects awaiting financing, including the upgraded Mbakaou dam (now 400 MW), the Memve’élé 2 expansion, and a proposed 50 MW solar plant at the Memve’élé site.
Prometal’s financial footprint in Cameroon’s power sector is substantial. Between 2016 and 2025, the group paid 42 billion FCFA to Socadel (formerly Eneo) and the national transmission company Sonatrel—an average of 4.2 billion FCFA annually. Redirecting these payments to EDC could reshape sector dynamics and accelerate consolidation of the state-owned power portfolio.
