TECHNOLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS OF THE PERFORMANCE OF A 50 KW MICRO-HYDROPOWER PLANT INSTALLED ON THE LOSSO RIVER IN NGULA, KWILU PROVINCE (DRC)

Background: The Democratic Republic of the Congo has exceptional hydroelectric potential (approximately 100,000 MW), but access to electricity in rural areas remains very low (< 10%). Locally manufactured micro-hydropower plants are a promising solution, but their actual performance is poorly documented.
This study aims to diagnose the technological performance of a 50 kW micro-hydropower plant installed on the Losso River in Ngula, Kwilu Province, after 14 years of operation.
An electrical measurement campaign (voltage, current, frequency, power) was conducted over 12 consecutive months (July 2025 to June 2026) using an Inqco DCM10004 clamp meter. The data were compared to the theoretical design values. Availability was calculated from the fault history.
The average annual voltage is 395 V (deviation -1.25% from 400 V), the average frequency is 49.9 Hz (deviation -0.2%). Annual production reaches 361.75 MWh for an average power of 41.65 kW. The overall average efficiency is 74.5%. Availability is excellent (99.62%), despite 12 minor incidents causing 33 hours of downtime. Significant deviations are observed: actual net head (3.75 m) is 23% lower than the theoretical value (5 m), phase imbalance (6.7%) exceeds 5%.
The Ngula micro-hydropower plant demonstrates the technical feasibility of locally manufacturing hydroelectric equipment in the DRC. The measured performance is satisfactory after 14 years of service, with exceptional availability. Improvements are proposed to further optimize the installation.