The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is taking steps to strengthen regulation of its electricity sector to improve the financial sustainability of utilities, attract investment and expand access to power.
The Electricity Sector Regulatory Authority (ARE) and the African Development Bank held a stakeholder workshop in Kinshasa from 21 to 25 September as part of the African Energy Sector Technical Assistance Programme (AESTAP).
The workshop brought together experts from the Ministry of Water Resources and Electricity, ARE, the National Electricity Company (SNEL), private operators and other public institutions to discuss three key reforms: determining the cost of electricity supply, harmonising tariff methodology and establishing a regulatory framework for electricity grid connections.
"Effective economic regulation is an essential foundation for attracting investment, strengthening the sector's sustainability and improving the quality of electricity services," said Callixte Kambanda, Head of the Energy Policy, Regulation and Statistics Division at the African Development Bank. "Through AESTAP, the African Development Bank is supporting the DRC in developing the tools and capacities needed to translate regulatory reforms into tangible results for the population."
The tariff study covering SNEL's operational area is designed to equip the regulator with tools to assess the actual costs of electricity services, changes in demand, and the revenues required by operators.
The study recommends gradually introducing a transparent and equitable tariff framework that protects household purchasing power whilst ensuring adequate returns to support investment in power generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure.
"This study provides us with essential tools to better understand the sector's costs, changes in demand and the effects of pricing decisions," said Soraya Aziz-Moto, Director-General of ARE. "It will contribute to more transparent and predictable regulation that is more focused on achieving balance within the sector, whilst taking consumers' needs into account."
Beyond tariff setting, the reforms aim to strengthen the sector's financial viability and improve predictability for investors.
Cherif Mohamed, the African Development Bank's Country Manager for the DRC, said the work goes beyond the technical issues of tariffs and grid connection. "It forms part of a broader discussion on how the Democratic Republic of the Congo can build a well-regulated, financially viable electricity sector capable of attracting the investment needed to extend electricity access across the entire country," he said.
The study also highlights the distinctive structure of SNEL's customer base. According to SNEL's 2024 annual report, the company had nearly one million billed customers and sold about 10,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually, with most of the energy consumed by high-voltage customers.
Whilst low-voltage customers account for over 99 percent of SNEL's portfolio, a small number of large industrial consumers account for the bulk of electricity consumption. This imbalance underscores the need for more reliable sector data to improve national energy demand forecasting.
The study recommends initially adopting a simple, operational tariff framework, with more sophisticated mechanisms introduced progressively as data quality and institutional capacity improve.
The reforms are part of Mission 300, a joint initiative by the African Development Bank Group and the World Bank Group to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.
