Captive Power Projects: A summary of the Western Africa regulatory environment | Page 12

Democratic Republic of Congo

OVERVIEW
Degree of favourability
Presence of a monopoly company
Existing opportunities . The development of power projects in the DRC remains relatively new , and the region is generally considered a challenging place to do business . Since 2014 , the DRC has been engaged in extensive reform of the electricity sector to develop its energy resources .
The historic state-owned electricity company , Société Nationale d ’ Electricité ( SNEL ), is no longer in a monopoly position . Law No . 14 / 011 of 17 June 2014 on the electricity sector ended SNEL ’ s monopoly and opened up the market for production , transmission and distribution of electricity to the private sector .
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Types of authorisations required and associated thresholds ( if applicable )
Granting modalities ( decree , order …) Applicable Law ( s )
Self-production
Independent producers
Authorisation required for electricity projects located outside of the public domain with an installed capacity of between 100 kW and 9,999 kW . These thresholds may be too small in practice for captive power projects .
A decree sets out the terms and conditions for the sale of surplus electricity . However , the notion of “ auto-production ” is not expressly defined . To be further investigated with the administration .
License required for electricity projects located outside of the public domain with an installed capacity above 1 MW .
Concession regime applies to projects located in the public domain , as well as to the transport and distribution of energy ( no maximum installed capacity threshold identified ). 10
Authorisations granted by the provincial governor or by the decentralised territorial entity .
To be further investigated with the administration .
Licenses granted by the provincial governor , upon instruction and after examination and approval by the Electricity Regulatory Authority .
Concessions granted following an invitation to tender , or , exceptionally , through a direct agreement .
Law No . 14 / 011 of 17 June 2014 on the electricity sector
Law No . 18 / 031 of 13 December 2018 amending Law No . 14 / 011 of 17 June 2014
Ministerial Decree No . 031 / CAB / MIN-ENRH / 2017 of 21 April 2017 , setting out the conditions and the procedure for the certification of service providers in the energy sector
Decree No . 18-052 of 24 December 2018 setting out the procedures for selecting operators , awarding , amending and cancelling concessions , licenses , and authorizations in the electricity sector
Decree No .
082 / CAB / MIN / ENRH / 18 dated 27 December 2018
Law No . 14 / 011 of 17 June 2014 on the electricity sector
Order No . 030 / CAB / MIN-ENRH / 2017 of 21 April 2017
Decree No . 18-052 of 24 December 2018 setting out the conditions and the procedure for the certification of service providers in the energy sector
10
The “ Eligible clients ” status allows a consumer whose installed capacity is greater than 1 MW or whose annual consumption in the previous year was greater than 5 GW / hour , for non-residential use , to buy electricity from their chosen provider , on a freely negotiated basis .
bracewell . com 12