Kinshasa: the proliferation of illegal connections cited as cause of power disruptions

Kinshasa, June 23^rd, 2025 (CPA). – The proliferation of illegal connections, which do not take into account the capacity of the transformers of the National Electricity Company (SNEL), has been cited as the cause of power disruptions in the municipality of Bandalungwa (in central Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo) by the Regional Director in an interview on Monday with CPA. « With the exponential population growth recorded across the capital, the population’s electricity supply needs have exploded, and we have had to make numerous connections without taking into account the maximum capacity of the transformers installed by Snel, a crucial element in supplying customers. Currently, there are connections buried somewhere, hidden and not at all visible, to prevent people from noticing them during inspections, » has said Dieu Merci Bwaka, Regional Director of Snel/Kinshasa West. He has pointed out that there are also connections between plots of land in order to maintain good neighbourly relations by supplying electricity to neighbours on the right or behind. « All these operations have a direct impact on the quality of the energy supply that will be carried by cables, but the phase that is transferred to the neighbour will have an impact on the main pipeline, which was not taken into account when calculating the power supply for this sector. This surplus will gradually lead to cable deterioration, not to mention untimely resilient interruptions due to overload, » he explained. With regard to the much-criticised accessibility of the cabins, Mr Bwaka has stressed that only professional technicians, repairers, joiners and medium-voltage operators, equipped with certain documents duly signed by senior management, are authorised to work in the company’s facilities in order to ensure the traceability of all operations carried out in each facility. ‘Anyone who turns up at a facility to carry out illegal repairs without any documentation must be considered a fraudster and must be arrested by the local police and security services for further proceedings, as Snel does not have any coercive powers,’ he has said. He has emphasised that subscribers are clamouring for the replacement of cabins deemed to be damaged, adding that in terms of electrical maintenance, « as long as operating conditions allow a transformer to function normally, it cannot be replaced because its minimum lifespan is 30 years, and it can even exceed that. The only thing that can currently disrupt service and needs to be remedied quickly is the replacement of cables that have certainly aged: we are gradually upgrading the entire network by replacing cables. »