Switching on the power for the first time - big impact for a small village

This August, the village of Bokosso, Cameroon was able to turn on the power switch for the first time in history.  Deep in the African rainforests, SunErgy, a Norwegian energy company, have chosen Eltek as a partner to provide off-grid energy to remote villages.
 
The people of Bokosso celebrated all night long in the light that beamed through the village for the first time. They had good reason to celebrate. With electricity in place, cable TV and internet will soon follow. Coupled with entrepreneurship training and micro financing, the people will have access to the outside world, eyeing a brighter future for themselves and their families.
 
Modern energy services are crucial to human well-being and to a country’s economic development; and yet globally over 1.3 billion people are without access to electricity.  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon states that "Energy is the golden thread that connects economic growth, social equity, and environmental sustainability."

Eltek contributes to the solution by offering high efficiency power systems converting the input from solar panels to electric power suited for household appliances. 

The project came to life after joint efforts by the people of Bokosso, governments of Cameroon and Norway, SunErgy and Eltek.

"We chose Eltek because of the quality of their technology as well as their experience in projects like this" says Dr.  Stein Skjorshammer, CEO of SunErgy.  "Having the right people on the project makes the difference, and the commitment and enthusiasm of Eltek's Dariusz Kowalczyk has been key" Skjorshammer adds. 

Eltek planned, delivered and commissioned the Bokosso power system, photovoltaic panels and batteries, and also performed system performance analysis to ensure everything was in place before the big event.

"Technology can change people's lives, and this project paired both my interest for technical challenges as well as my own passion to help others" says Dariusz Kowalczyk. 

Being the Program Manager Global Design Engineering in Eltek, Dariusz has been involved throughout the entire project, and was on site when the power was switched on.

"Visiting Bokosso for the first time I saw small a boy carrying a dirty generator on his head. I wanted to see him carrying solar panels instead, a dream that came through when I returned to Bokosso to supervise the site installation."

While Bokosso now lights up for the first time in history, the work continues elsewhere. Under the agreement between SunErgy and the government of Cameroon, a total of 92 villages will be given electricity by 2018. All villages will use Eltek technology to undergo the same transformation as Bokosso did this summer.

This will give 121 000 families a new outlook on life, and enable them to share the comforts we often take for granted ourselves.

Eltek is proud to be a part of the efforts to let the entire world experience the power!