Benin

Getting Electricity in

Benin

Below is a detailed summary of the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain an electricity connection for a newly constructed building in Benin.

This information was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 185 economies. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2012.

Compare Benin to 185 other economies.

  • Standardized Company

  • Name of Utility: Société béninoise d'énergie électrique (SBEE)
  • City: Cotonou

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Submit application at customer service office of Societe Beninoise D'Energie Electrique (SBEE) and await estimate

The customer has to go to a customer service office of the utility and fill in an application form. No documents are necessary. An application fee has to be paid which is dependant on the power requested. The customer has to go to the utility to pick up the estimate. Once the customer receives the estimate, he/she pays the amount with cheque or in cash at the regional office of the utility.
Agency: Societe Beninoise D'Energie Electrique (SBEE) 		8 calendar days XOF 719,251.6
* 2 Societe Beninoise D'Energie Electrique (SBEE) carries out an inspection of the site

An external inspection of the site is necessary to prepare the estimate. After the external inspection, the estimate is being prepared. The customer does not have to be present during the inspection, but the site must be accessible. It is recommended that someone from the customer’s site is present to indicate where the meter should be installed.
Agency: Societe Beninoise D'Energie Electrique (SBEE) 		1 calendar day XOF 10,000.0
3 Societe Beninoise D'Energie Electrique (SBEE) hires an electrical subcontractor to do the external connection works, install meter and final connection

The utility hires an electrical subcontractor for the external connection works. The utility provides the material and the meter. The transformer needs to be imported, it cannot be bought in Cotonou. Overall, the construction of the transformer post takes several months because material needs to be imported, especially the transformer and the meter take time to be obtained. The connection of the transformer post to the network is done by underground cable and carried out by the utility. The utility has to do a public tender for meters and that takes several months. The meter installation is done at the same time as the connection works and by the same department of the utility. The customer signs a document (“mise en service”) to sign the status of the meter (at zero) and the utility opens the meter and the electricity starts flowing.
Agency: Societe Beninoise D'Energie Electrique (SBEE) 		150 calendar days XOF 52,664,617.0
* 4 Contrelec carries out an inspection of the internal wiring

An inspection of the internal wiring is conducted by Contrelec, a government agency. In the estimate, SBEE bills for the service of Contrelec. When the customer pays the estimate in the office of SBEE, he/she pays at the same time Contrelec. SBEE wires the money for the customer to Contrelec. They in turn, wire the money to the Tresor Public. Contrelec knows automatically that they have to do an internal inspection when the customer pays the estimate at the utility. The customer has to be present for the inspection to sign the report of the inspection.
Agency: SBEE/Contrelec 		21 calendar days XOF 831,480.0
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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