The State of Cameroon has completed the renationalisation of the historical power utility Eneo, after taking over the 51% held by the British fund Actis for XOF78bn (USD140m) and raising its stake in the company to 95% in early February 2026 (5% reserved for employees), and renamed it Société camerounaise d’électricité (Socadel). The company becomes a public capital company, closing a 20-year power sector opening cycle.
National power utility Sonel was opened for privatisation in 2001, when the US power group AES acquired a 56% stake, which was sold to Actis in 2014; AES-Sonel was then renamed Eneo. The company has been facing financial difficulties, including massive debt and unpaid bills, as well as an ageing distribution network and structural tensions in the electricity chain causing power shortages, prompting Actis to consider selling its stake. In February 2026, the state took over Actis's stake, before creating the state-owned Socadel in May 2026.
Socadel will continue to operate Eneo's capacity of about 1 GW, including 13 interconnected plants and 24 remote thermal power plants, without any monopoly on the electricity market, along with Société nationale de transport de l’électricité (Sonatrel) et Electricity Development Corporation (EDC).