Energy

All power plants are thermal. The two at N'Djamena provide most of the national output. Nine per cent of the households in Chad had access to electricity.

Conventional thermal capacity comprises all of Chad’s power supply. Four generators, which are fuelled by oil imported from Nigeria and Cameroon, make up the country’s only major power station (22 MW). The plant is located in N’Djamena, where approximately nine per cent of households have electricity.

The high cost of importing petroleum to fuel power generation makes Chad’s electricity prices among the highest in the world. World Bank loans to develop the electricity sector have focused on increases in sustainable energy ($5.3 million) and improvements in equipment renovation ($55 million).

Generation and distribution of electricity in Chad are handled by the state-run Société Tchadienne D’eau et D’électricité (STEE).

Mineral Industry

The mineral industry is poised to become a significant segment of Chad's economy as the Doba Basin petroleum project and other oil blocks are under way, with exportation of crude oil.

The production of construction materials was a leading industry in 2002. In 2001, in addition to clay and salt, mineral output included gold produced from a mine at Gamboké and placer deposits in the Mayo Dala Département (formerly the Mayo Kebbi Préfecture); gravel, sand, and silt from the Chari and Logone rivers; limestone from the Louga quarry; natron (soda ash, the natural form of sodium carbonate) from Lake Chad; and crushed rock from Dandi. The country's undeveloped mineral resources included bauxite, columbium (niobium)-tantalum, diatomite, graphite, kaolin, quartz, soapstone, tin, thorium, tungsten, and uranium. There were also occurrences reported of chromites, copper, diamond, iron, lead, nickel, titanium, and zinc.

The government of Chad has passed a series of attractive laws to encourage foreign investment in the development of domestic hydrocarbons.