WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version

1.2.3 Central African Republic
Lara Esser and Kai Whiting, International Center on
Small Hydro Power
Key facts
Population 5,057,208 1
Area
623,000 km²
Climate Tropical climate, with a distinct dry
season (December to May) followed
by a wet season. Annual average
temperature is about 24°C with little
variation.
Topography Vast, flat to rolling, monotonous
plateau; scattered hills in northeast
and southwest 1
Rain Pattern Annual average rainfall is 1,500 mm.
Electricity overview
In 2003, only three per cent of the population had
access to electricity, partly as a result of the
infrastructural damage to the power sector caused by
the war. 2 3
A total of 162 GWh was produced by Énergie
Centrafricaine (ENERCA), of which 130 GWh from
hydropower. 2 However, additionally there are private
producers also using diesel, petrol generators and
solar PV and micro hydropower 4 . Detailed information
was not available.
The Central African Republic’s total installed electrical
capacity is 39 MW. Currently, only eight per cent of
the urban population has access to electricity, the
provision has been unpredictable. 5
An increasing proportion of people living in towns are
using diesel- or petrol-powered generators to produce
their own private electricity, including businesses (e.g.
mining, logging companies, agro-industries), planters
as well as religious missions. 4 Connecting to the grid is
expensive, and firms - most of which are small and
informal - wait around seven months to get
connected. 6
Among the energy sources utilized 87.7 per cent is
wood, 10.9 per cent oil and 1.4 per cent hydropower.
The oil consumption is not uniform in the whole
country; it is high though in mining regions where
petrol is used for pumping water.
Power cuts due to ageing machinery, difficulties in
finding replacement parts for maintenance and the
negative impact of multiple power cuts on different
services and the economy, as well as household use,
led to the decision to liberalize the energy sector by
the Government and the Ministry of Mines, Energy
and Water Resources. In 2005, the Parliament
adopted the Electricity Code favouring foreign and
private investments. 7
Small hydropower sector overview and potential
SHP installed capacity
SHP potential
34 MW
41.1 MW
0 10 20 30 40 50
Figure 1 Small hydropower capacities in the Central
African Republic
There are records of nine small hydropower plants
operating in the Central African Republic. Some of
these are installed in towns (e.g. six small hydropower
plants with aggregated installed capacity of 5 MW,
representing 12.82 per cent of the country’s total
installed capacity in small hydropower (see table 1)
and two other small hydropower stations are located
in the area of the Boali falls, with an aggregated
installed capacity of 18.65 MW (representing 87.18
per cent of the country’s total installed capacity in
small hydropower (table 2). Boali 1 and 2 have only
been partially refurbished in the last years and are
hence in a terrible state. 4 In 2007 the government
started construction of Boali 3, an additional 10-MW
hydropower plant which was not yet operational in
2011. 5
Table 1
Installed small hydropower capacity under 10 MW in
the Central African Republic
Project ID
Head
(m)
Flow rate of water Q
(m 3 /s)
Output
(kW)
Kembe 14 1.2 500
Soungbe 9.5 1.4 1 400
Toutoubou 60 1.40 712
Baïdou 5.5 12.30 2 320
Mbeko 6.0 1.60 350
Bria 2.5 18 300
Total 5 582
Eleven potential small hydropower schemes have so
far been identified in Central African Republic, which
would add an aggregated capacity of 6.832 MW (see
table 3).
Renewable energy policy
In 2004, the Central-African government adopted a
national energy policy framework favouring
renewable energies, with a view to reduce poverty
over the period of 2005-2015. 4 The Poverty Reduction
Strategy Paper (2008-2010) mentions the need to
diversify energy sources, by expanding rural
electrification, building micro hydropower plants,
electrifying villages using PV systems and developing
biomass energy. 4
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