Government unveils $373m PEZor blueprint
The Republic of Congo’s Ministry of Energy and Hydraulics, led by Minister Emile Ouosso, presented on 5 September in Brazzaville a $373.4 million Programme for Electrification of Rural Areas, or PEZor, and called on multilateral and private capital to join the venture.
The luncheon, hosted at the United Nations Development Programme’s local headquarters, formed part of the national Energy Compact and aimed to move the ambitious blueprint from paper to site mobilisations across the republic through coordinated public-private partnerships before the end of the decade, officials told prospective backers.
Micro-hydro and solar backbone
PEZor rests on two technologically complementary pillars. The first maps nineteen micro-hydropower sites whose capacities range from 31 kilowatts to 5 megawatts, positioned to exploit the topography of ten interior districts and provide year-round resilient baseload for surrounding communities without carbon emissions.
The second pillar focuses on solar generation and lighting. Plans envisage 257 mini photovoltaic plants, 1 880 public streetlights and 243 kilometres of distribution lines, thereby extending the national grid’s reach to health posts, schools and agribusiness clusters now reliant on diesel.
Pilot mini-grid targets 2030 industrial loads
To demonstrate bankability, government and UNDP agreed on a pilot mini-grid centred on the rehabilitated Lébama fall (28 MW) and the future micro units of Itsibou (1.5 MW) and Foula (0.8 MW). Output will be pooled through a dedicated high-tension loop.
By 2030 the loop is expected to deliver ten megawatts to the Zanaga iron ore concession, ten megawatts to Mayoko’s mining corridor and incremental two-megawatt feeds to Mossendjo, Komono, Yaya, Moutamba and Lefoutou, benefiting a projected 40 304 residents.
Financing structure and return outlook
The pilot budget stands at CFAF 87.13 billion, of which CFAF 65.6 billion funds turbines and civil works, CFAF 14.9 billion covers medium-voltage lines, CFAF 5.8 billion builds local networks, and CFAF 779 million finances engineering studies, Minister Ouosso said.
Officials underscored that concessional loans blended with viability-gap grants can reduce tariff pressure, while mining off-takers prepared to sign medium-term power purchase agreements could accelerate cost recovery and improve the internal rate of return for private sponsors.
Partners show early enthusiasm
UNDP Resident Representative Adama Dian Barry welcomed the trust shown by Brazzaville authorities and highlighted early pledges from the Global Environment Facility and the United Kingdom’s Mattei Plan. Negotiations are also progressing with the European Union, AfDB, AFD and the World Bank.
“My hope is that appetites will sharpen after hearing the minister outline electrification priorities,” she told guests, inviting bilateral agencies and investors worldwide, including philanthropic foundations, to ‘join this sublime journey toward a brighter Congo powered by its own cascading waters in the months ahead’.
Power gap and industrial urgency
Access to electricity remains uneven. National connection records show 494 313 residential contracts, translating into an access rate of 39 percent in urban centres but barely 1 percent in the countryside. Even counting informal taps, rural coverage seldom crosses 10 percent, officials conceded.
That gap constrains industrialisation, particularly in designated economic zones and mature mining provinces waiting for reliable baseload. Government planners therefore view PEZor not merely as a social good but as a competitiveness lever for alumina, timber and agri-processing projects.
Data snapshot and climate dividend
Internal dashboards presented during the luncheon compared power intensity forecasts under three scenarios. Under the ‘accelerated’ path, rural demand could rise to 150 gigawatt-hours, or even higher, annually by 2035, while avoided diesel imports would save roughly $25 million a year at current prices.
Graphical models showed that every megawatt added via micro-hydro offsets around 2 800 tonnes of CO₂ annually, reinforcing Congo-Brazzaville’s climate commitments under the Congo Basin forest agenda, an element applauded by development partners focused on green finance.
Key questions from investors
Investors attending the event asked for clarity on concession length, indexation formulas and dispute-resolution forums. The ministry indicated that a dedicated rural electrification decree, now in inter-ministerial review, will unambiguously anchor and secure incentives such as generous import-duty waivers and accelerated depreciation schedules.
Participants also sought updated resource hydrology data and solar irradiation curves. UNDP promised to publish a technical annex, while the public utility Energie Electrique du Congo confirmed that grid-stability studies will be completed before financial close.
With a structured pipeline, a defined pilot and growing alignment between government and external financiers, analysts believe PEZor can shift the rural access narrative from isolated villages to interconnected growth hubs, offering both developmental impact and stable, currency-linked revenue streams.
