section_path: Economy/Energy
section_name: Energy
paragraph_text: Energy
  
  The generation and distribution of electricity is controlled by Société nationale d'électricité (SNEL), but only 15% of the country has access to electricity. The DRC has the infrastructure for hydro-electricity from the Congo River at the Inga dams. Both coal and crude oil resources were mainly used domestically up to 2008. As of 2010, the country had 2,400 megawatts of installed capacity, with only 1,000 MW functioning, and the only interconnected part of the power grid is the high voltage transmission line between the Inga dams in Kongo Central and the southern DRC. This line runs to the Zambian border and is also used to export electricity to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Almost half of companies in the DRC have their own generators due to blackouts and the limitations of the power grid. The country has a river system that could provide hydro-electric power to the entire continent, according to a UN report on the country's strategic significance and its potential role as an economic power in central Africa. The DRC's electricity generation potential from hydro-power is estimated at 100,000 MW. The DRC is a member of three electrical power pools. These are Southern African Power Pool, East African Power Pool, and Central African Power Pool.
  
  Because of abundant sunlight, the potential for solar development is very high in the DRC. There are already about 836 solar power systems in the DRC, with a total power of 83 MW, located in Équateur (167), Katanga (159), Nord-Kivu (170), the two Kasaï provinces (170), and Bas-Congo (170). Also, the 148 Caritas network system has a total power of 6.31 MW.