DJ Cameroon Alumina Smelter Secures More Energy From AES

YAOUNDE, Cameroon -(Dow Jones)- Cameroon's alumina smelter, the Societe Camerounaise d'Aluminium, or Alucam, has obtained a 30-year agreement for electricity supply, by paying double for the quantity of energy consumed during the period, Alucam General Manager Alain Malong told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday. The state-run Alucam, a strategic partner of world smelting consortium Rio Tinto Alcan, a unit of Rio Tinto PLC (RTP), entered the energy deal Friday with AES-Sonel, the Cameroon affiliate of U.S. energy firm, AES. AES Corp. had bought 56% of Cameroon's former state-owned electricity firm, the National Electricity Corporation, or Sonel, in 2001 to become AES-Sonel. Beginning January 2010, the agreement, preceded by four years of negotiations between the two parties, guarantees Alucam the supply of 490 megawatts of electricity supply from 2013, then adds 250 megawatts of the energy by 2015. Alucam thus agrees to pay double the electricity supply by AES-Sonel, essentially XAF12,94 per kilowatt , from XAF7 paid before. "With the contract just signed last Friday with AES-Sonel, Alucam aims to more than triple its output of the primary alumina that we produce to 300,000 metric tons by 2015," said Malong. Alucam, whose 47% stakes are owned by the Cameroon government, is supposed to annually produce 90,000 metric tons of aluminum. -By Emmanuel Tumanjong, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; +237-9655-6261; tnuel@yahoo.com