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Abstract
The electricity supply industry of the Democratic
Republic of Congo is reviewed, from the formation
of the Societé National d’Electricité (SNEL) in 1970
until today. The DRC government established a
national utility, because electricity is a key element
in the socio -economic development of a country.
Due to the national monopoly of SNEL, hydropow-
er plants could be constructed such as Inga1 and
Inga2. They supply power to mining in the Katanga
province, and to a steel company in Maluku, not far
from Kinshasa. Currently, Inga1 and Inga 2 are not
operating at full capacity. Many hydropower and
thermal plants are located in different provinces and
need to be refurbished to increase their capacity of
electricity for the DRC. Due to technical problems,
SNEL only generates 1150 MW. The electrification
programme in urban and rural areas across the
DRC caters for less than 10% of the 60 million
inhabitants. In 1980, the government implemented
a policy called Plan Directeur de SNEL for electrifi-
cation, but the policies never reached their objec-
tives. No Energy White Paper exists which outlines
the entire policy framework for energy supply and
demand. Power sector reform has also not been
implemented in the electricity sector. This paper
outlines future government options in the electricity
sector. Accordingly, the Public Private Partnership
model could play a major role in attracting private
partners to invest in the electricity sector in order to
have different hydropower and thermal plants refur-
bished.
Keywords: hydropower, Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC), electricity use, public private part-
nership
1. Introduction
In most African countries people still use wood,
paraffin, candles and other fuel for lighting, heating
and cooking. Despite this, the continent has abun-
dant potential sources of energy, especially solar,
wind, thermal and hydroelectric power. On 16 May
1970, the Zairian government, under the Mobutu
regime, signed a government decree, number
70/033, for the establishment of SNEL as a Public
Enterprise Company. It is a national utility with
characteristics of an industrial and commercial pub-
lic enterprise. On 5 May 1978, the Zairian govern-
ment signed another decree, No 78/196. After the
implementation of the new decree, SNEL took over
the generation, transmission and distribution of
electricity in the DRC. The company is run by a
board of directors, the management committee,
and ‘le College des Commissaires aux Comptes’
which manages the national utility (SNEL, 2005:4).
The establishment of SNEL in 1970 was subjected
to the Royal Decree of 9 November 1956, including
a set of regulations and general Block Notes, deter-
mining applicable principles and concessions for
public distribution of electric energy.
Current electricity capacity in the DRC is 1150
Megawatts (MW) per year, consisting of 98%
hydropower and 2% thermal plants. The potential
hydropower capacity of the DRC is estimated to be
as high as about 100 000 MW, of which the Inga
Dam constitutes 44% of the ‘Societé National
d’Electricité’ (SNEL, 2000:3). If exploited to its
fullest capacity, the Inga Dam could be one of the
biggest hydropower stations in the world. This
would increase the DRC’s ability to electrify the
entire country and also to export more electricity to
other African states. The internal generation, trans-
mission, and distribution as well as the exportation
of electricity from the DRC is the responsibility of
SNEL.
Since 1970, when SNEL was established, the
government made the following contribution at var-
Journal of Energy in Southern Africa • Vol 17 No 3 • August 2006 21
The electricity supply industry in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo
J M Lukamba-Muhiya
E Uken
Both of the Energy Technology Unit, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa
Journal of Energy in Southern Africa 17(3): 21–28
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2413-3051/2006/v17i3a3261
ious levels:
•New hydropower plants and thermal plants (for
example, Inga 1, Inga 2, and Hydropower of
Mobayi).
•New transmission and distribution lines in differ-
ent provinces.
•Nationalisation of private electricity companies
in 1972 and 1974.
• Transfer of all thermal plants from Regideso
(another public company that distributes water
in the country) to SNEL in 1979 (SNEL,
2005:4). All these transfers of infrastructure by
the government do not give the national utility
financial support. Since that time the national
utility has experienced financial difficulties.
The national utility generates and sells electric
energy across the country. In addition to that, SNEL
also purchases electricity from independent power
producers such as some mining companies, which
have their own power plants. The national utility
has a national monopoly in terms of generation,
transmission and distribution of electricity in the
DRC, including exporting electricity to neighbour-
ing countries.
This paper reviews the current situation of
Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) in the DRC after 45
years of its independence, highlighting its export
potential of electricity to the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) and other coun-
tries in Africa. Access to electricity in the DRC is still
a luxury for many households. Although the DRC
government has been in power since 1960, it still
does not have an effective energy policy in place to
promote an electrification programme in urban and
rural areas. The policies formulated during the rule
of the previous government under Mobutu could
not be implemented, because of general misman-
agement. Access to electrification today is enjoyed
by less than 10% of the population. This paper will
also analyse what the impact of a public private
partnership (PPP) could be after the elections,
which were to be held in June this year.
2. Socio-economic background of
the DRC
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly
known as Zaire, is a nation in which monumental,
political and administrative problems have occurred
since independence. The population of the DRC
rose to 60 million inhabitants according to the 2005
census. It borders Angola in the Southwest and
west, with Cabinda and the Republic of Congo in
the West, Central African Republic and Sudan in
the North, with Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and
Tanzania in the East, and with the Republic of
Zambia in the Southeast (Columbia encyclopaedia,
2002:1). The country consists of 11 provinces: Ban-
dundu, Bas Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental,
Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Sud-
Kivu and Province Oriental and Kinshasa, which is
the capital, with a population of 8 million inhabi-
tants.
The DRC is potentially the wealthiest country in
Africa, but stands today as an impoverished devel-
opment tragedy. Gifted with fabulous natural
resources, including copper, cobalt, gold, silver, tin,
fertile soil and bounteous waterfalls, the DRC has
woefully failed to meet its promise. According to the
Columbia encyclopaedia (2002:2) mining is cen-
tred in Katanga province, which provides copper,
cobalt, zinc, manganese, uranium, cassiterite (tin
ore), coal, gold, and silver. Diamonds are mined in
the Kasai and Oriental provinces. Major deposits of
petroleum were discovered offshore, near the
mouth of the Congo River. Almost 75% of the DRC
is covered with forest, and a considerable amount
of ebony and teak are produced annually, as well as
less valuable types of wood.
From an economic point of view, Kinshasa and
Lubumbashi are the most industrial cities of the
country. Manufacturing includes processed copper,
zinc, and cassiterite; refined petroleum, basic con-
sumer goods such as processed food, beverages,
clothing, footwear, and cement. The numerous
rivers of the Congo give an immense potential for
generating electricity, a small but significant per-
centage of which has been realized. The important
hydroelectric facilities are situated in Katanga and
produce electricity for the mining industry. In addi-
tion, there is another big project at Inga, on the
Congo River, in the Bas Congo province.
3. Historical background of electricity
supply in the DRC
Before the government established SNEL in 1970,
another public Enterprise Company called
Regideso controlled the Electricity Supply Industry
(ESI) from 1960 to 1972. Today Regideso’s princi-
pal work is to connect and distribute water all over
the country. Beside Regideso, six other private com-
panies generated and distributed electricity in the
country, namely:
•Comectrick
• Forces de L’est
• Forces du Bas-Congo
•Sogefor
•Sogelec, and
• Cogelin
In 1970, SNEL became a national utility with
the mandate to generate, transmit and distribute
electricity across the country. Four years later the
government decided to implement a new decree,
No 74/012 of 14 May 1974, allowing SNEL to take
over all six private companies, which had an obli-
gation to generate and distribute electricity in the
other provinces. This decision, gave SNEL a
national monopoly as the ESI (SNEL, 2000:7). The
Regideso returned its hydroelectric plants and ther-
22 Journal of Energy in Southern Africa • Vol 17 No 3 • August 2006
mal plants to SNEL only in 1979. Therefore,
Regideso no longer controls power plants in the
DRC.
The implementation of the SNEL policy is to
ensure that the state controls the generation, trans-
mission and distribution sector. Electricity is consid-
ered to be a main factor for the economic and social
development of the country. There are a few inde-
pendent power producers around the country. Most
of these are mining companies, although some
other companies also have their own thermal gen-
erators to supply electricity for their own use. SNEL
also has the option to buy electricity from private
companies. Figure 1 shows all the sites for hydro-
power and thermal plants across the country.
Figure 1: Hydropower potential across the
country
Source: (SNEL 2000)
Figure 1 shows different provinces with potential
for the construction of hydropower across the coun-
try. The River Congo (Lualaba) starts in the south of
the DRC, ending at the mouth in Boma, not far
from where the Inga hydropower is located.
The different types of energy carriers used in the
DRC are also considered later, suggesting some
solutions which the DRC government could consid-
er to ensure energy security in future. The ESI in the
DRC is reviewed under the following headings:
•Electricity capacity in the DRC
•Electricity supply industry, and
• Future governance option
4. Electricity capacity of the DRC
The total capacity of electricity generated with all
hydropower and thermal plants fully operational is
2505 MW. According to SNEL, Plan de Sauvetage
et de Redressement (PSR, 2005:15), the technical
problems in different hydropower and thermal
plants limit SNEL to currently only generate 1150
MW respectively, is due to a lack of maintenance
and spare parts. SNEL has a strategic programme
to rehabilitate different hydropower plants, starting
with Inga 1, Inga 2 and Zongo, located in the
province of Bas Congo, Nseke and Mwadingusha in
the Katanga province. Only a few turbines are oper-
ating in each hydropower plant. Figure 2 represents
different plants that SNEL is rehabilitating since last
year. The capacity in terms of MW of all these dif-
ferent hydropower plants is also shown in Table 1.
Figure 2: Hydropower plants under
rehabilitation
The rehabilitation of these plants will increase
the capacity in terms of electricity generation.
Beside these hydropower plants, there are also
other hydropower and thermal plants that need
refurbishment. There is the possibility of upgrading
some plants, but it is a problem for the government
to find partners to invest. The rehabilitation of the
five hydropower plants could assist SNEL recover
1416 MW estimated capacity from rehabilitated
hydropower plants across the country. Table 1
below represents all hydropower plants for SNEL
and different mining companies across the country.
The dates when the SNEL plants were commis-
sioned, are given in brackets.
According to Table 1, the DRC has at least 27
hydropower stations across the country. Some of
the plants are not working to their full capacity.
Therefore, there are plants that need to be refur-
bished scattered across the country. The large num-
ber of existing hydropower stations and the poten-
tial assets should allow the government to imple-
ment a successful policy for improving electrifica-
tion and offering far greater access within the coun-
try.
Apart from the hydropower, there are also a
number of thermal power plants around the coun-
try without an interconnection or grid connection
with transmission lines coming from Inga 1 and
Inga 2. Some of these thermal plants are located in
the north and eastern part of the DRC. These plants
are not in operation everyday, because of the lack
of spare parts and fuel shortage in certain areas.
The five years of civil war exacerbated also this sit-
uation. Plan de Sauvetage et de Redressement
(2005) reports that, it is the intention to change this
situation in 2006. For example, in the Equatorial
Journal of Energy in Southern Africa • Vol 17 No 3 • August 2006 23
province a lack of fuel can cause a power outage for
an entire month. Table 2 shows the status of ther-
mal power plants per province starting from 1980
compared with those of 2000, to indicate broad
trends.
During the civil war from 1998 to 2003, some of
these thermal power plants could not run properly,
because of the lack of fuel and engine parts from
the SNEL head office in Kinshasa. According to a
24 Journal of Energy in Southern Africa • Vol 17 No 3 • August 2006
Table 1: Hydropower capacity in the DRC in
2000
Source: SNEL Annual Report (2000:19)
Power plant & year Ownership Installed
of commissioning (SNEL or mining Capacity
by province company) (MW)
Bas Congo
Inga 1 (1972-74) SNEL 351
Inga2 (1981-82) SNEL 1 424
Zongo (1955-65) SNEL 75
Sanga (1932-49) SNEL 12
Mpozo (1934) SNEL 2.21
Katanga
Mwadingusha (1929-54) SNEL 68
Koni (1950 SNEL 42.12
Nseke & Nzilo (1953-57) SNEL 356.40
Kyimbi (1959) SNEL 17.20
Kilubi(1954) SNEL 9.9
Kivu
Ruzizi 1 (1958-1972) SNEL 28.2
Ruzizi 2 (1989) SNEL 26.6
Kasai occidental
Lungudi (1949) SNEL 1.6
Province Oriental
Tshopo (155-1974) SNEL 18.8
Equateur
Mobayi (1988-1989) SNEL 11.40
Budana Kilomoto 13.8
Nzoro Kilomoto 1.4
Soleniama1 Kilomoto 13.5
Soleniama2 Kilomoto 1.6
Ambwe/Kailo Sominki 2.2
Belia Sominki 2.2
Mangembe Sominki 1.8
Lulingu Sominki 0.7
Lutshurukuru Sominki 5.1
Moga Sominki 0.4
Tshala&Lubilanji1 Miba 8.6
Piana Mwanga Congo Etain 29
Total 2 524.13
Table 2: Thermal power plants in the DRC in
1980 and 2000
Source: SNEL Annual Report (2000:21)
1980 2000
Site of plant No. of Capa- No. of Capacity &
by province plants city plants type of plant
Bas Congo
1. Muanda 22.2 31.6 (Gas plant)
2. Lukala 20.3 10.3
3. Tshela 20.4 20.4
4. Lemba 11.3 Grid*
5. Bomba 54.5 Grid*
Bandundu
6. Kikwit 4 1 2 0.9
7. Inongo 20.3 10.2
8. Bandundu 20.8 Grid*
Kasai Occidental
9. Kananga 44.2 32.7
10. Mweka 20.4 20.4
Kasai Oriental
11. Mbuji Mayi 412.9 1Grid*
12. Lusambo 20.6 20.6
13. Kabinda 20.6 20.6
Equateur
14. Mbandaka 44.3 32.3
15. Basankusu 20.3 20.3
16. Boende 20.4 20.4
17. Bumba 30.8 10.4
18. Lisala 61.4 61.4
19. Gemena 41.2 41.2
20. Libenge 20.8 20.8
21. Zongo 10.3 1Grid*
22.Gbadolite 41.2 - -
Maniema
23. Kindu 31.7 10.6
24. Kasongo 20.6 20.6
Katanga
25. Kabalo 20.4 20.4
26. Kongolo 30.9 10.3
27. Kamina 30.8 -Grid*
28. Kaniama 30.5 30.5
29. Kasenga 20.2 -Grid*
Nord Kivu
30. Goma 42.4 - Grid*
31. Butembo 10.3 10.3 not running
32. Kisangani 412.8 412.8
33. Buta 3 0.6 30.6
Total 92 61.03MW 54 30.8MW
* Connected to national grid
senior official of SNEL (2005), few thermal plants in
different provinces are connected to the national
transmission lines. The major role for all these
plants is to distribute electricity locally in the differ-
ent provinces. Most of these plants will not operate
again as thermal plants in future. Some of the ther-
mal plants have, however, become operational
again after the peace process.
5. The electricity supply industry
The working structure of the ESI can be divided,
along operational lines, into three sectors: genera-
tion, transmission and distribution. The structure of
generation of electricity starts from Hydropower,
Thermal and Gas plants. The transmission sector is
built up with high voltage lines starting from the
generation to the distribution sector. The national
utility transmission lines have been divided into six
categories in terms of capacity. In Table 3, different
transmission lines in kilowatt and kilometres within
the DRC electricity sector are shown. The longest
national grid in the DRC was inaugurated in 1982
when Inga 2 became operational. That transmission
line is called Inga-Kolwezi. The same transmission
line connects the DRC to Zambia and other coun-
tries in SADC.
Each province within the country has one or two
hydropower, or thermal plants, which generate
electricity. Large capacities of electricity generation
are located in the Katanga and Bas Congo
provinces.
According to the financial indicator of SNEL
2005, the performance of the national utility is not
good. The sales of electricity in MW within the
country are low. In 2003 SNEL sold 64% of elec-
tricity and in 2004 the utility sold 63%, due to a
poor electrification programme for the country.
Very low numbers of the population have access to
electricity. Only 276 431 domestic customers in
Kinshasa, a city of 8 million inhabitants, have
access to electricity. There is also a large number of
informal customers in Kinshasa and elsewhere in
the country, which SNEL still found difficulty to cap-
ture on its database.
According to SNEL’s Plan de Sauvetage et de
Redressement (2005:10), less than 10% of the pop-
ulation has access to electricity. There are also big
losses of electricity on the distribution side. SNEL
recorded that more than 30% of electricity has been
lost during the past four years. For example, in
2004 the companies recorded a loss of 41%, and in
2003 a loss of 37.4% (SNEL, 2005:19). There is a
possibility to re-establish the national DRC utility by
meeting the technical and commercial requirements
of international standards. All this should be done
with a responsible government and to avoid politi-
cal interference. In Figure 3, the structure of ESI in
the DRC is presented.
Figure 3: Structure of the ESI in the DRC
According to the International Energy Agency
(IEA, 1994:24), vertical integration describes the
relationship or linkage between the main functional
activities within the electricity supply chain. It could
be argued that SNEL is having a vertical integration
on electricity sector within the country. The distri-
bution of electricity in the country is problematic
and power outages happen frequently. This situa-
tion of having poor electricity services in the DRC
has impacted negatively on many households and
on the economy generally. The consequence of not
having reliable sources of electricity, in some urban
Journal of Energy in Southern Africa • Vol 17 No 3 • August 2006 25
Table 3: Transmission lines in kilometres, in terms of high voltage values
Source: SNEL (2000: 24)
Location 500KV 220KV 132KV 120KV 70KV 55/50KV Total in km
Bas-Congo 216.6 185.3 164.5 611.4
Kinshasa 123.6 80 203.6
Bandundu 264 264
Equateur 22.5 22.5
Kivu 260 260
Katanga 834.1 120 1198.8 70 188.8 2411.7
Inga-Kolwezi 1774 1774
Total in Km 1774 1483.3 327.8 1198.8 574.5 5547.2
areas, contributes to the closure of many business-
es, forcing them to move to places where electricity
supply is reliable.
6. Future governance options
The government still has to implement an electrifi-
cation programme across the country to boost the
number of domestic customers who have access to
electricity. This policy was approved by Mobutu’s
regime two decades ago. Currently, Plan Directeur
de SNEL for urban and rural electrification is on
hold. There are few places in Katanga province
where electrification for rural areas is taking place.
Hence, the major programme for urban and rural
electrification programme is still lagging behind for
over two decades. Discussions are taking place
between the government and SNEL to carry out the
programme of electrification after the presidential
election, which will be held this year.
6.1 Major consumers of electricity
There are two major consumers of electricity in the
country: the DRC’s government buildings, and
some public enterprise companies, like the mining
sector. These two consumers use 50% of the elec-
tricity produced in the DRC each year (SNEL,
2005:5). The remaining companies are private and
other businesses around the country.
The domestic consumption is very low because
of the lack of electrification programmes. The
remaining electricity generated is being exported to
countries that have already signed a bilateral agree-
ment with the national utility. These include Angola,
Congo Brazzaville, Central Africa Republic,
Burundi, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and South Africa. In
Figure 4 the electricity usage in the DRC is shown.
It will change with time, depending on demand and
the accessibility of electricity by different sectors.
Figure 4: Profile of electricity usage in the DRC
6.2 Governance structure
The electricity sector of the DRC holds the key to
social and economic development of the country.
Government has controlled this sector since inde-
pendence. The national utility is under the direct
control of the Ministry of Energy, and all govern-
ment decisions relating to the electricity supply
industry are implemented by the Ministry of Energy.
The Ministry of Public Enterprise controls the finan-
cial part of SNEL. Currently, there is no Energy
White Paper from the transitional government
which should underline the policy of the govern-
ment. Most of the policies involved in the electricity
sector are from the previous regime under Mobutu.
There is a possibility of a new democratic govern-
ment, after the election in June 2006, with a possi-
bility of new policies and strategies for the country.
The ESI regulation generally involves a degree
of public price control, and normally, it extends to
control over other areas, such as levels of service,
and planning and investment decisions (Steyn,
1994: 22). At present, in the case of the DRC gov-
ernment, there is no regulatory body for the elec-
tricity sector, as in the case of the National Energy
Regulator of South Africa (NERSA). A commission
has taken most of the decisions regarding electricity
tariffs; the level of service delivery and other mat-
ters.
The International Energy Agency (1994:42)
declared that the government has tended to rein-
force the monopoly position of utilities by passing
legislation, which granted the companies special or
exclusive rights. SNEL, as national utility, has sup-
plied electricity for over 35 years without a regula-
tory body. It would be important to assist the local
utility to become more efficient, and evaluate the
electricity tariff every year. However, the DRC gov-
ernment is the only agency which intervenes direct-
ly in any policy making for the transformation of
SNEL. There is a need to have an independent
body to start regulating the electricity tariffs and to
suggest to the government and SNEL the way for-
ward to improve the service levels of the national
utility.
6.3 Public private partnership (PPP)
6.3.1 Background
After reviewing the ESI of the DRC, it became evi-
dent that a real need exists for the DRC government
to take an initiative to apply a PPP model in the
electricity sector. According to the European Union,
(EU) Green Paper (2004:3), the term of PPP is not
defined at the community level. In general, this
term refers to a form of co-operation between pub-
lic authorities and the world of business, which aims
to ensure effective funding, construction, renova-
tion, management or maintenance of an infrastruc-
ture or the provision of a service.
Furthermore, reviewing the ESI of the DRC,
there are different possibilities to apply PPP model
with many hydropower and thermal plants located
in different provinces across the country. Most of
the hydropower under SNEL supervision has over
25 years of operation, and some of them are not
26 Journal of Energy in Southern Africa • Vol 17 No 3 • August 2006
operating to their full capacity. The International
Monetary Fund, World Bank and Belgian govern-
ment granted a loan of over $200 million to reha-
bilitate some hydropower and thermal plants.
Another option is getting big loans from finan-
cial institutions, as the Congolese government is try-
ing the PPP model to rehabilitate the electricity sec-
tor. According to SEFI (2001:12) PPP can be used
for new projects and rehabilitation or maintenance
projects. When one analyses the DRC electricity
sector, the introduction of a PPP model appears
very feasible, because there is a need for SNEL to
rehabilitate most of the hydropower across the
country. SNEL does not have sufficient funds to
rehabilitate all its plants. A relationship with a pri-
vate partner would be the best way for the govern-
ment to come out of its financial difficulties.
6.3.2 Model for PPP
There are different types of PPP models that the
DRC government could consider for the rehabilita-
tion of different hydropower and thermal plants. It
would be good for the government to realise that
PPP does not mean privatisation of government
assets. Instead, PPP can sustain the government to
upgrade or rehabilitate some of the power plants.
Seader (2004:4) argues that, instead, partnership
refers to an entire spectrum of relationships where
private sector resources are used in the delivery of
services or facilities for public use. The private sec-
tor could support the national utility to provide one
or more of the following:
•Designing a new project
•Financing
•Project initiation and planning
•Construction
•Ownership
• Operation, and
•Revenue collection.
The PPP model falls into two categories: the first is
the establishment of a new project and the second
aims at refurbishment of existing facilities.
6. 3.3 New projects
There are different models for new projects:
• Build-transfer (BT)
•Build-lease-transfer (BLT)
•Build-operate-transfer(BOT)
• Build-own-operate-transfer(BOOT)
The recommended approach for the government is
to choose which model best suits the rehabilitation
of electricity power plants. For example, the BOT
could be appropriate for a plant rehabilitation and
new construction. This model of PPP offers the gov-
ernment the possibility to convert development and
initial operation from a public sector project to a pri-
vate one.
Seader (2004:5) states that the private sector
contractor or consortium of contractors finances the
project, accomplishes the construction, and oper-
ates the new facility for some specified length of
time, after which it is expected to transfer ownership
to the government, mostly at no cost. The prospec-
tive transfer to the host government happens imme-
diately it can retain control of the asset. The DRC’s
government could use this BOT model to build the
third phase of Inga. The BOT model is especially
suitable for different governments because it offer
the host country many options such as:
•The capacity to reduce capital costs for a partic-
ular project at a time when it intends to provide
funds for another project.
•The chance to encourage outside investment
and introduce new or improved technology
(Seader, 2004:5).
Furthermore, this model works as well for rehabili-
tation of power plants or expansion of an existing
facility, sometimes called its Rehabilitate-Operate-
Transfer (ROT). There are so many hydropower
and thermal plants within the DRC that need a
complete rehabilitation. If government could apply
this type of PPP model it would enable SNEL to
increase power generation across the country. In
addition, according to Elizabeth (1999:3) this
model is being used in different developing coun-
tries to build new infrastructure. There are a few
examples in some of the French speaking countries
in Sub Saharan Africa.
BOT is not the best model for all PPP models
because, for example, it focuses only on one facili-
ty, which limits the private sector actor’s ability to
help optimise system wide resources or efficiencies
(Elizabeth, at al: 1999). Nevertheless, this model
provides a platform for increasing local capacity,
and to operate infrastructure facilities. This type of
model also provides an incentive to be efficient,
since companies have to perform well in order to
win the contracts.
In terms of applicability of PPP in the electricity
sector, the DRC government has already allowed
two local companies, Electricity du Congo (EDC)
and Societé d’Electricité de Nord Kivu (SONEKI),
to run two hydropower plants. According to Kalala
(2005), the first project is located in Kasai
Occidental, and the EDC is rehabilitating the
hydropower of Lungudi, which was commissioned
in 1949 with a capacity of 1.6 MW (Ministry of
Energy, 2005). The objective of this PPP model is
to rehabilitate the hydropower plants and also to
electrify the city of Kananga. SENOKI, located in
Butembo in North of Kivu province, runs the sec-
ond project. The capacity of the plants is 1.2 MW.
The transitional government gave the two compa-
nies a 25year period to run the plants with a possi-
bility to renew the project. Learning from the local
private company’s experience, there is a possibility
for the government to extend this kind of project for
the big hydropower plants in different provinces.
Journal of Energy in Southern Africa • Vol 17 No 3 • August 2006 27
6.3.4 Existing facilities
In the second type of appropriate model, the infra-
structure is already in place, but the government is
looking for a partner to mainly manage the existing
facilities. The presentation of this model is to review
the SNEL situation and to see which model can be
used to solve some of the problems the national
utility is facing.
One example could be a Service contract. This
model could solve the problem concerning the
billing and collection in order to increase the rev-
enue for SNEL across the country. In service con-
tracts, the government or the national utility main-
tains the greatest degree of control over its services
and facilities. The private company has all its terms
of service spelt out in the service contract.
According to Seader (2004:6), in service con-
tracting, or contracting out, the government con-
tracts with a private company to supply functional
responsibilities that the public sector previously per-
formed, such as billing and collection. In this kind of
contract, the responsibility lies with the government
to choose the best company to do the job. SNEL
and the DRC government never used this kind of
model for the electricity sector across the country. It
is the responsibility of the government to check the
performance of SNEL and to see if such a model
would be efficient and work effective for the whole
country, especially in rural areas.
7. Conclusion
Most observes seems to agree that the performance
of SNEL during its 35 years of existence, calls for a
real change. This means that SNEL should imple-
ment corporate governance within the structure of
the utility. There is a need for power sector reform
to help SNEL to rehabilitate most of its plants locat-
ed in different provinces. There is a need for central
government to avoid political interference in the
running of the national utility.
Corruption within SNEL could also cause the
company to collapse. A possible new government
after the presidential election needs to encourage a
better transformation in all the structures of the
national utility. An aggressive electrification pro-
gramme should be a priority for the government
and SNEL, aimed at offering access to electricity to
many more domestic customers in urban and rural
areas.
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Received 16 August 2005; revised 9 May 2006
28 Journal of Energy in Southern Africa • Vol 17 No 3 • August 2006
