What is the electricity access rate in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

The public version of the resulting report of the effort is available here. The Democratic Republic of Congo’s national electric-ity access rate is estimated at 19%. Less than 1% of the rural population and 41% of the urban population has energy access. Of the country’s 10 million house-holds, only 1.6 million have have access to electricity.

Why does DRC have a high electricity demand?

All segments of electricity demand are severely constrained by supply. Most demand in the residential sector is unmet, partly because DRC has one of the largest deficits in electricity access in the world and high geographical disparities (see chapter 2 for information about access). So is industrial demand.

What solar projects are being built in the DRC?

The main existing solar project in the DRC is a 1MW solar mini-grid with 3MWh of battery storage capacity built by Enerdeal and Congo Energy in the city of Manono, to supply the local population and SMEs. Enerkac has also developed a 1MW hybrid plant powering SNEL’s Kananga mini-grid in Kasaï Central (non operational in 2019).

How much electricity does Kinshasa use?

Residential electricity consumers are concentrated in Kinshasa and a few other large cities in the South or along the Eastern border with Rwanda and Uganda. Average annual demand per capita in Kinshasa is estimated at around 380 kWh, compared with around 330 kWh in Southern cities and 290 kWh in Eastern cities.

How much e-waste does the DRC produce?

The DRC is expected to produce 16,050 tons of elec-trical and electronic waste, according to a study car-ried out by the Belgian group, Groupe One. There are currently no regulations or legislative frameworks concerning e-waste.

How will rising demand affect electricity service in Kinshasa?

If this rising demand is not met with an increase in supply and improvements to electricity infrastructure, it will lead to further deterioration of electricity service. In Kinshasa, while 60% of the population has access to electricity, service quality and reliability is very poor.