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Democratic Republic of the Congo · asset class

Power Plants in Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has 23 power plants mapped on the OverWatts open energy atlas — the 86th-largest fleet of the 155 countries that hold any, and under 0.1% of the world's mapped total. Of these, 6 operating and 17 under construction or proposed. Operating generation capacity totals 2.5 GW across 6 utility-scale plants of 100 MW and above. The largest is Inga III hydroelectric plant (4.8 GW).

The largest owner-operators are Societe Nationale d'Electricite (SNEL) (10), ZESCO Ltd (3) and East African Power (EAP) (2) — Societe Nationale d'Electricite (SNEL) alone is named on 43% of them. Half of Democratic Republic of the Congo's power plants in service predate 1982 (median commissioning year of the 6 with a known date), 2 came online in the past decade and the oldest still listed is N'Zilo 1 hydroelectric plant, dating from 1952. 17 are in the pipeline, led by Inga III hydroelectric plant (4.8 GW), under construction. They account for 72% of every energy asset OverWatts maps in Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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23
Power Plant in Democratic Republic of the Congo
#86
of 155 countries
2.5 GW
Operating capacity
17
In construction / proposed

Operating generation capacity by fuel

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Largest power plants in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Who owns Democratic Republic of the Congo's power plants

Counts an asset once per company named as its owner or operator; a joint venture counts for each partner.

When they were built

Median commissioning year 1982 · oldest N'Zilo 1 hydroelectric plant (1952) · newest Busanga hydroelectric plant (2023) · 6 of 23 carry a start date

Under construction & proposed

How Democratic Republic of the Congo compares · power plants by country

Frequently asked

How many power plants are there in Democratic Republic of the Congo?
OverWatts maps 23 power plants in Democratic Republic of the Congo — under 0.1% of the world's mapped total, the 86th-largest national fleet of the 155 countries with any.
What is the largest power plant in Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Inga III hydroelectric plant, at 4.8 GW.
How much power-generation capacity do Democratic Republic of the Congo's power plants have?
About 2.5 GW operating across 6 plants, with a further 8.6 GW under construction or proposed. That covers utility-scale sites of 100 MW and above, so it sits below national installed capacity wherever distributed generation is large.
Who owns the power plants in Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Societe Nationale d'Electricite (SNEL) is named as owner or operator on the most — 10 of 23 (43%). Next are ZESCO Ltd (3), East African Power (EAP) (2) and Melci Holdings (2).
How old are Democratic Republic of the Congo's power plants?
The median commissioning year is 1982, across the 6 in service with a known start date. The oldest still listed is N'Zilo 1 hydroelectric plant (1952); 2 came online in the past ten years.
What new power plants are being built in Democratic Republic of the Congo?
17 projects are under construction or proposed. The largest are Inga III hydroelectric plant (4.8 GW), DR Congo (SkyPower) solar project (1.0 GW) and Fipango solar farm (300 MW).

Other asset classes in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Cement Plant 9

Power Plants in other countries

China 11,537United States 3,831India 1,675Brazil 879Spain 653Australia 615Philippines 489Russia 461Canada 452Vietnam 392Japan 387Germany 335