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The DRC holds around 100 GW of hydropower potential — roughly 13 % of the world total — yet exploits under 3 % of it, and only 22.1 % of its people have electricity. Refurbishing ageing units and powering mining and agro-industry with hydro and mini-grids is today's most bankable path; Inga-scale projects remain a longer horizon.
| Electricity access (WDI) | 22.1 % (2023) |
| Installed capacity | Inga II alone: 1,424 MW design capacity |
| Hydropower potential | ≈100 GW — ≈13 % of world total; <3 % exploited (IHA) |
| Utility / grid operator | SNEL (Société nationale d'électricité) |
| Key fact | Inga II Unit 5 refurbished in 2025: 178 MW restored (Ivanhoe Mines / SNEL) |
Data: World Bank World Development Indicators (EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS, 2023), CC BY 4.0 · IHA country profiles.
Beyond the headline Inga programme, the near-term market is brownfield: dozens of legacy plants — Mwadingusha, Inga II and regional networks — need runner, governor and electrical rehabilitation. Such work restores output in months rather than years, and TC × HIER executes it from original drawings with its own machining capacity.
Mining drives demand: Kamoa-Kakula pairs refurbished hydro with 233 MWp of solar and 526 MWh of batteries for 24/7 clean power. Agro-industrial parks — such as Ngandajika, tied to the 12 MW Mpanda-Mushilu scheme now in AfDB-funded studies — need the same toolkit of turbines, switchgear, transformers and SCADA.