ARSEL - Electricity Sector Regulatory Agency

Cameroon is a country with a wide variety of energy resources alongside a large national and sub-regional market. According to the World Bank estimates, the hydroelectric potential stands at about 12 000 MW. After the DRC and Ethiopia, Cameroon stands as the third-largest potential energy source in sub-Saharan Africa. Its solar energy potential ranges from the South to the North at 4 kWh / m2 / day to 6 kWh / m2 / day respectively. Besides hydro and solar power, geothermal potentials have been spotted in the localities of Ekondo Titi, Meiganga, Tignère, and Nwa. This diversity of resources can simultaneously give the country energy independence and take it to a higher development level.To bring the best out of this energy potential, ARSEL was established by Law N ° 98/022 of December 24, 1998, governing the electricity sector. This law was amended and later supplemented by Law No. 2011/022 of December 14, 2011, which enshrines the liberalization of the electricity sector in Cameroon. It has the status of public administrative establishment within the meaning of Law No. 99/016 of 22 December 1999 on the general status of public institutions and enterprises.

ARSEL’s Missions

It ensures the regulation, control, and monitoring of the activities of actors in the electricity sector. Specifically, ARSEL is called to;

participate in the promotion of the rational development of the supply of electric energy;
ensure the economic and financial equilibrium of the electricity sector and the conservation of the economic conditions needed for its sustainability;
look after the interests of consumers and to ensure the protection of their rights as regards the price, the supply, and the quality of the electric energy;
promote competition and the participation of the private sector in the fields of production, transport, distribution, import and export, and sale of electric energy, under objective, transparent and non-discriminatory conditions :
adjudicate disputes between various actors of the electricity sector

Because it is a privileged instrument of government policy in the domain of electric energy, ARSEL has a flexible organization that permits it to quickly adapt to the context and requirements of the electricity sector.

The organization and functioning of ARSEL

It was fixed by decree n ° 99/125 of June 15, 1999. It is administered by two (2) bodies.

The Board of Directors: Composed of representatives of various Public Administrations, employees, consumer associations, and Agency staff. The Chairman of the Board of Directors is appointed by presidential decree.

General Management: ARSEL is managed daily by a General Manager assisted by a Deputy General Manager, both appointed by presidential decree.

The members of the Board of Directors and the General Management are high governmental authorities with the appropriate experience and competence, occupying or having occupied high administrative positions as well as heads of national and international companies.

In carrying out its missions, ARSEL relies on an efficient structure whose activities are carried out by five departments, namely:

The Studies Department (DE);
The Regime Management Department (DGR);
The Directorate of Economic Control and Competition (DCEC);
The Directorate of Legal Affairs and Consumer Protection (DAJPC);
The Department of Administrative Affairs, Finance and Human Resources (DAAFRH);
Each Directorate is made up of sub-directorates and/or services.

The Technical Advisor, the Communication and Public Relations Unit, the IT and Documentation Unit, the Mail and Archives Service, the Translation and Internal Audit Service, are attached to the General Management and complement the organization chart of ARSEL.

ARSEL has decision-making and operational autonomy. It has extensive powers to investigate, control, and sanction those who violate the texts governing the sector.