Douala: The prepaid meter introduced by Energy Cameroon (ENEO) in 2017 is gradually being embraced by Cameroonians, especially in the major cities of Douala and Yaounde, the company has said. Out of the over 2 million users in Cameroon, about 800,000 are prepaid users. In a press conference organized by ENEO in Douala on November 15, to talk about the transition from the postpaid to the prepaid system, it was indicated that 60% of users in Douala use the prepaid meter already.

According to Cameroon News Agency, acquiring the meter comes as the first step, but understanding how it works, and how to use it efficiently is another key aspect. Speaking during the press conference on Friday, the Governance and Internal Control manager, Dr. Ebenezer Tedjouong, said many customers already have the meter but don’t yet understand how their consumption is calculated.

It was indicated that ENEO is presently using a selective tariffication system which is based on given rates set by the government. As from 2012, the rat
es have stood at 50 FCFA/kWh for consumption ranging between 0-110 kWh, 79 FCFA/kWh (111-400 kWh), 94 FCFA/kWh (401-800 kWh), and 99 FCFA/kWh (801 kWh plus).

The internal control manager noted that for the selective tariffication, calculation is done for each range that the user arrives at. If the customer’s consumption covers two or three ranges, each range will be calculated separately according to its rate, and added together to give a total that has to be paid. This is contrary to the postpaid in which calculation is done using only the rate of the highest range the consumer reaches.

It was also noted that the prepaid users are charged based on their consumption habit. If in a month, the total purchase of electricity by the user surpasses the basic 0-110 kWh range, their purchase for the next month will be based on the new range that they got into. Instead of 50 FCFA/kWh, they might be charged 79 FCFA/kWh or more, depending on the range they reached in the previous month.

With several concerns raised a
bout the cost and mode of tariffication, ENEO has pointed out that the final decision to increase or reduce prices rests solely with the government, which is the regulator.