The impact of Electricity insecurity on the performance of small and medium size enterprises-The case of Cameroon

Abstract

Electricity is an important resource for an economy and its demand for the last decade have witness a significant increase. This work has as aim to study the impact of electricity insecurity on the performance of small and medium scale businesses in Cameroon within the period of 1980 to 2018. The study made use of time series data within the period of the study and uses two methodological approaches; the time series data are analyze using a multiple linear regression for the first method of the work with statistical package SPSS, STATA for treatment. The work also made use of a survey analyzes which helps in the collection of field data which are treated using the statistical package SPSS version 27. The result showed that electricity consumption and petroleum consumption which both constitute elements of energy have a positive relationship with Gross domestic product (GDP) in Cameroon. Survey result from this study also showed that small and medium scale businesses in Cameroon perceive insufficient electricity supply from the energy company which render their business activities difficult. Based on findings from this work, it is suggested and recommended that, the government of Cameroon with the energy company should expand the source of energy to meet up the high electricity demand. A move to the renewable sources such as solar and wind energy will help to boost the energy sector and improve on the economic growth of the country. Key words: Electricity insecurity, SMEs performance, Electricity consumption, GDP