AES Sonel

completed

AES Sonel is the privatized integrated national electric utility of Cameroon. It was privatized in 2001 at which time AES Corp. purchased 56% of the shares of the company, and AES Sonel was granted a 20 year concession for distribution, transmission, and generation of electricity throughout Cameroon. The company has an installed generating capacity of 933MW comprising of 721MW hydroelectric capacity and 212MW thermal capacity (including 24MW isolated capacity). The transmission system consists of 480 km of 225kV, 337 km of 110kV, and 1,064 km of 90 kV lines and 19 substations. AES Sonel has approximately 522,000 customers of which about 79% are located in Douala (the economic hub) and Yaoundé (the capital city).The project is a corporate loan to AES Sonel to finance a portion of a comprehensive five-year investment program (2005-2009) designed to improve the company’s operations and meet the objectives of the concession agreement. The main objectives of this investment program are: - meet concession objectives for new connections; - improve quality of service; - expand network capacity; - refurbish aging generation, transmission and distribution systems; - improve safety and environmental standards; -- reduce technical and commercial losses; - improve work processes and management efficiency; and - reduce fuel and variable O&M costs.