Gov’t losing over 60 billion FCFA annually to electricity fraud – Energy minister.

The minister made the disclosure during a concertation meeting with electricity sector operators including officials from ENEO, SONATREL, and representatives of consumer rights associations. 

Minister Eloundou Essomba said the meeting was to address persistent challenges affecting power supply nationwide.

He described the huge sum lost annually to fraud as a form of economic sabotage with serious technical, security, and financial consequences, which weakens the country’s power sector and further reduces the quality of service delivered to citizens.

The minister said the electricity sector is currently facing a structural and financial imbalance, largely driven by insufficient investment. 

He said the consequences of such imbalance, caused principally by fraud, are already visible through increasing nationwide blackouts that affect households and businesses. 

The situation, he said, is further compounded by lack of adequate investment in production, transmission and distribution infrastructure which has significantly affected the reliability of electricity services.

Counts consequences of energy fraud to nation 

The minister revealed that 32 compatriots lost their lives in 2024 due to incidents linked to illegal electricity connections.

Financially, the minister estimated that between 60 and 70 billion FCFA is lost annually to electricity fraud. 

Such huge amounts, he regretted, could have been used to expand and modernise the country’s electricity infrastructure.

“These resources represent kilometers of power lines that are not constructed, transformers that are not replaced, and distribution supports that are not upgraded,” he explained.

He detailed that any act intended to consume electrical energy outside the quantities recorded by a metre, manipulation of the metre readings, or breaking of official seals on installations amount to energy fraud.

The minister said metre tampering by individuals to reduce the amount of energy consumed in order to pay less as one of the most common practices.

He also cited clandestine hooking onto power lines without a contract or metre and illegal electricity resale carried out by individuals he described as “fraud barons”, who illegally supply households or businesses and collect unauthorised payments from consumers.

Technically, the minister said such illegal practices overload transformers and distribution lines, leading to breakdowns and power outages that penalize law-abiding customers who regularly pay their electricity bills.

On the security front, he said the risk of such clandestine practices are more alarming as non-compliant electrical installations frequently cause electrocutions and fire incidents in homes and markets.

Fresh warn against electricity fraud  

Minister Eloundou Essomba used the meeting to announce a robust strategy to intensify the fight against electricity fraud beginning March 16, 2026.

He clarified that the government’s initial approach would prioritise education and regularisation rather than repression.

“The primary objective is not to punish fraudsters but to encourage normalisation and regularisation so that everyone pays for their electricity consumption,” he said.

He, however, warned against dealings with intermediaries who claim to facilitate illegal access to electricity. 

The minister insisted that such individuals do not represent authorities or electricity operators. He stated that any deals with them would expose consumers to legal sanctions and serious safety risks.

“The populations are invited to stop paying third parties or ‘fraud barons’ to access electricity,” he stressed.

To encourage compliance, Minister Eloundou Essomba said plans are underway to introduce facilitation measures, including temporary contracts for low-income households who wish to regularise their situation. 

The contracts, he said, could last up to six months and allow affected consumers to gradually settle their obligations through monthly payments. He also field operations conducted by mixed inspection teams will be intensified. 

Recovered funds to be invested in infrastructure 

Funds recovered from combatting fraud, the minister said, would be invested to improve electricity infrastructure.

He mentioned replacement of wooden electricity poles with concrete ones, increasing transformer capacity, extending distribution networks, and modernising the sector through digital monitoring systems and prepaid electricity metres.

“Electricity is a common good. Each of us has a responsibility to protect it,” he said, while urging all stakeholders to federate efforts to bring change in the sector. 

Consumers’ associations pledge collaboration to fight fraud 

Representatives of consumers’ association used the meeting to pledge their collaboration with to curb and bring fraud in the sector to its barest minimum. 

They also appealed for protection of those once denunciations are made in order not to be targeted by those reaping hugely from the acct.

They suggested among other measures, the creation of a toll-free number to report fraud, the end of contracts between communication companies and electricity company as they sometimes block fraud reports among other measures. 

Responding to the suggestions, the minister proposed putting in place a denunciation box at his cabinet for members of the association to anonymously drop complaints. He assured the association members that they will be working anonymously and they will always be protected by the State.

The article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3730 of Friday March 13, 2026