The Cameroonian government has given Prometal the green light to secure 90 megawatts of electricity directly from the Electricity Development Corporation (EDC), the state-owned utility overseeing the country’s power assets. Final contract signings will follow a week-long negotiation phase scheduled from June 8 to 12, 2026, at the Prime Minister’s office in Yaoundé. A June 1 directive from the Secretary-General, Séraphin Magloire Fouda, to Energy Minister Gaston Eloundou Essomba, outlines the next procedural steps.
Prometal joins elite group of direct hydropower buyers
Talks will center on the custom pricing agreement granted to Prometal since early 2025 and the drafting of full contract terms. Two documents will form the backbone of the deal: a supply agreement between EDC and the steelmaker, and a compensation contract between EDC and the newly restructured Société camerounaise d’électricité (Socadel), formerly part of Eneo. Once executed, Prometal will become Cameroon’s second industrial operator to draw power straight from dam sources, following the Compagnie camerounaise de l’Aluminium (Alucam).
Alucam’s precedent remains a key reference. Long recognized as Cameroon’s top electricity consumer—accounting for up to 40 percent of national output—the aluminum giant taps directly into the Edéa dam complex, now under Socadel’s management alongside the Songloulou facility. Prometal, by contrast, will source its supply from EDC-operated plants, specifically Lom Pangar and its 30 MW footplant, and Memve’élé, which delivers up to 211 MW at peak.
Steel output surge triples energy demand in three years
Direct procurement aligns with Prometal’s rapid industrial expansion. Operating five plants in the Douala-Bassa industrial zone—Prometal 1, 2, 3, Profab, and Progaz—the group’s power needs climbed from 26 MW in 2024 to 40 MW in 2025, according to internal figures. Forecasts put demand at 60 MW in 2026 and 90 MW in 2027, coinciding with the launch of Proalu, a new facility dedicated to aluminum sheeting and electrical cable production.
For a heavyweight industrial player, uninterrupted supply and predictable kilowatt-hour costs are vital for staying competitive. The traditional grid, strained by chronic mismatches between generation, transmission, and distribution, could no longer absorb such rapid growth without jeopardizing production lines. Direct sourcing from EDC paves the way for a pricing model tied to water usage rights, bypassing downstream network segments and their inherent inefficiencies.
EDC taps Prometal deal to fund new power ventures
From EDC’s perspective, the arrangement delivers a much-needed financial boost. The company’s revenue model hinges on water-rights fees, recycled into new infrastructure projects. But persistent payment delays from Socadel, its long-standing counterpart, have strained cash flows. Adding Prometal as a creditworthy buyer injects liquidity into the system. Insiders point to several stalled initiatives now ready for funding, including the 400 MW Mbakaou plant expansion, the Memve’élé 2 project, and a planned 50 MW solar array at the Memve’élé site.
Prometal’s financial footprint in Cameroon’s electricity sector is substantial. Between 2016 and 2025, the group remitted 42 billion FCFA to the former Eneo (now Socadel) and the national grid operator, averaging 4.2 billion FCFA annually. Redirecting these payments to EDC could reshape operator dynamics and accelerate consolidation within the state-owned segment.
