Activities

As part of its regularization, control and monitoring missions of the electricity sector (ARSEL) carries out numerous activities to ensure the accomplishment of its missions. These include, among others:

In any investment in the electricity sector, ARSEL has a major role to play. ARSEL receives and examines the concession or license application files and submits them to the Minister in charge of electricity with assent for signature. In the case of titles falling under authorization, declaration or freedom regimes, ARSEL receives, instructs and issues said titles to allow operators to carry out their activities in the electricity sector. The list of documents to be provided for any application for a permit is set by regulation and appropriate forms can be issued by ARSEL when the permit application file is put together. The documents provided by potential operators to ARSEL for the attribution of a title must include elements specifying the selling prices to the end user of the energy they intend to produce.

To ensure that consumers receive electrical energy that is satisfactory in quality and quantity, the Agency carries out studies and above all checks the quality of service provided to consumers. This makes it possible to better appreciate the quality of service received by them from the operator. In addition to this, the Agency strongly encourages the installation and use of smart meters in Cameroon to better monitor and manage electricity consumption.

one of the regulator’s major activities is the control of consumer tariffs by operators in the sector. The tariffs applied must take into account the economic environment of the country, the quality of the service provided as well as the purchasing power of consumers. These tariffs must also allow the operator to meet its contractual commitments and to be remunerated at a reasonable interest rate. Finally, the rates are calculated on the basis of the cost of the service.

The mission of ARSEL is also to protect the rights and interests of consumers with respect to the price of the supply and the quality of the electrical energy supplied. For this reason, ARSEL Friends are in place of the tools to fulfill this mission.

These include:

The call center receives daily (24/7) calls from consumers experiencing problems in the electricity sector. With the help of experienced teleoperators, consumers instantly receive solutions to their problems. For more complicated problems, the attention of the operator concerned is immediately drawn or the problem is forwarded to the conciliation platform.

This is a platform set up by ARSEL to amicably resolve sector problems between the operator and subscribers. This platform is currently holding its conciliation sessions in Yaoundé and Douala, and intends to extend to all regions of the country for better coverage of consumer complaints.

In addition to the aforementioned tools, ARSEL continuously carries out other activities such as:

The popularization of the laws governing the sector;
Broadcasting of radio and TV programs, awareness campaigns;
Technical and cost audits;
Control, analysis and approval of business plans and investment programs;
Arbitration of disputes between operators;
Participation in major events with high visibility of the sector.
Promotion of investment in the sector:
Cameroon being endowed with a significant potential for the production of electricity, and aware of the growing internal and external demand for electricity, the Regulator has undertaken actions to promote the electricity sector through events such as:

FINELEC (International Electricity Forum): it aims to create a platform where the problems hampering the development of the electricity sector in Cameroon and Central Africa are put on the table for the moment. The forum is held every two years in Cameroon. But it is planned if necessary, a rotation between the countries of the sub-region.
The Invest’Elec fair: this is a forum established with the financial assistance of the European Union to serve as a meeting place for experts in the promotion of rural electrification with renewable energies.

ARSEL is constantly seeking excellence in the regulation of the electricity sector. It is for this reason that the regulator is a member of many associations of electricity regulators. In particular African Forum for Utility Regulators (AFUR), Energy regulators Regional Association (ERRA). Rural Electrification Club (Club ER), International Federation for the Safety of Electricity Users (FISUEL), etc. in addition, there is a project to create a training center for capacity building of regulatory experts in Africa.