ENERGY
I. Potentials
The Congo River with its basin astride the Equator, provides the DRC with a usable energy potential estimated at 100,000 MW, spread across 780 sites in 145 territories and 76 000 villages. This potential represents approximately 37% of the African overall potential and about 6% of the global potential.
The DRC also has significant potential resources of renewable energy such as biomass, wind, solar, biogas, biofuel, etc.
The energy situation of the provinces is as follows :
Provinces | Energetic situation |
Kinshasa |
|
Katanga |
|
Bas-Congo |
|
Province Orientale |
|
Kasaï Oriental |
|
Kasaï Occidental |
|
Nord-Kivu |
|
Sud-Kivu |
|
Maniema |
|
Bandundu |
|
Equateur |
|
Sources : Atlas of the Ministry of Water Resources, Kinshasa, 2014.
Of the total installed capacity in DRC estimated at 2,516 MW, SNEL has a generation capacity of about 2,416 MW, or 96% of installed national power, consisting essentially of hydroelectric plants. However, actual production is only 6,000 to 7,000 Gwh. The auto producers share the remaining 100 MW of installed capacity, or 4%.
Despite the huge potential that the country abounds, much of the land remains without electricity because of the dilapidated facilities dating from the colonial period and the lack of new investors in the sector. The country’s electrification rate remains low at 9.6% and the government’s vision is to increase the level of service up to 32% in 2030.
But the country does not have sufficient financial resources to cope with all these plant construction needs, an Investment Code and a Code of Electricity were established to attract private investors to the sector.
II. Achievements
- Liberalization of the sector to private partners ;
- Public-private partnership which has promoted the implementation of the following projects : great Katende, Kakobola, Zongo II, etc ... ;
- Public-Public Partnership between the DRC and South Africa for the construction of Inga III plant with a capacity of 4,500 MW.
III. Vision
- Increase the supply rate of electricity from 9% to 32%;
- Construction of energy highways in the following lines :
- Inga Site → Gabon → Cameroon → Nigeria → Mali
- Inga Site → Central Africa → Chad → Libya
- Inga Site → Angola → Namibia → Botswana → South Africa
- Inga Site → South Africa → Sudan → Egypt
- Inga Site → Malawi → Zambia → Zimbabwe → Lesotho
IV. legal framework
The energy sector in the DRC is regulated by Law No. 14/011 of 17 June 2014 which aims in particular at :
- Effective liberalization of the sector ;
- The promotion and harmonious development of supply in urban, pre-urban and rural areas ;
- The coverage in electricity need for all categories by the quality supplies ;
- The guarantee of fair competition between operators and users’ rights.
This law applies to activities of production, transmission, distribution, import, export and marketing of electricity implemented by any operator.