Description
Project Name: Talihya-Nord I
Project owner: ENK
Standard: Verra VCS
Project ID: 4184
The region of Butembo and Beni has one of the lowest rates of electricity access (around 3%) in the country and doesn’t have neither an electricity network nor the national electricity company services. The project is providing electricity for the first time to the population of the cities of Butembo and Beni and will be a major step for local SMEs as well. 30,000 households will use this green electricity, replacing diesel generators available in limited numbers. ENK is using a prepayment system allowing the users to follow in real time their energy consumption and better manage their budget (no credit or debt collection). Within households, women are the most positively impacted by the arrival of electricity. Indeed, they no longer have to fetch tens of kilos of charcoal several times a week and transport them over many kilometers. They also benefit from a huge time saving when preparing meals and cooking. In addition, thanks to electricity, they can store food in fridges or freezers.
ENK is a Congolese company resulting from a public-private partnership between Energreen and the province of North Kivu. ENK’s mission is to produce and distribute renewable energy in regions that have been deprived of electricity and have potential for strong economic growth. By promoting access to affordable and quality electricity, ENK supports economic development in these regions. They have built and operate the powerplant, they also have established the transmission and distribution networks.
Impact
The country has an enormous development potential thanks to a very abundant hydrological resource.
The project is taking full advantage of this potential by using it instead of going for a more complex source of energy production.
The plant was built through advanced technology transfer from industrialized countries.
The project was constructed with modern technology which are of a higher standard than many power plants in Africa.
Purchasing electricity from ENK allows households to make significant savings.
The electricity sold by ENK is two to three times cheaper than using electric generators.
In the region, around 3% of the population has access to electricity.
To date, 10,000 households have had access to an affordable and renewable energy.
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