Rehabilitation of a hydropower plant in DRC to empower surrounding communities by JLA Hydro

JLA Hydro, with Belgian funding, restored a 1960s-era 60 kW hydropower plant in Murhesa, DRC, which had been inactive for 15 years. The project involved civil works, the installation of a custom crossflow turbine, and the creation of a regulated minigrid. The restored power now supports a health centre, schools, and several food production and processing facilities, demonstrating the efficiency of hydropower rehabilitation for rural electrification.

• The rehabilitation of the 60 kW plant in Murhesa involved a site survey, civil works including a new weir and updated water intake systems, and the installation of a custom-built JLA crossflow turbine to power a modernised minigrid.
• Restored electricity has enabled the operation of critical community infrastructure, including a health centre with a maternity ward, schools, a cereal processing plant, and a food production facility producing cheese, jam, and ice cream.
• Rehabilitating existing hydropower plants is presented as an efficient strategy for medium to large scale rural electrification because it can be completed quickly with low investment per kilowatt and provides continuous energy without requiring batteries.

APA

Özkan, O. (2025). Rehabilitation of a hydropower plant in DRC to empower surrounding communities by JLA Hydro. Alliance for Renewable Electrification. https://renewelec.org/rehabilitation-of-a-hydropower-plant-in-drc-to-empower-surrounding-communities-by-jla-hydro/

Chicago

Özkan, Okan. Rehabilitation of a hydropower plant in DRC to empower surrounding communities by JLA Hydro. Alliance for Renewable Electrification, 2025. https://renewelec.org/rehabilitation-of-a-hydropower-plant-in-drc-to-empower-surrounding-communities-by-jla-hydro/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Özkan |first1=Okan |title=Rehabilitation of a hydropower plant in DRC to empower surrounding communities by JLA Hydro |publisher=Alliance for Renewable Electrification |date=18 June 2025 |url=https://renewelec.org/rehabilitation-of-a-hydropower-plant-in-drc-to-empower-surrounding-communities-by-jla-hydro/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{zkan2025rehabilitation, author = {Özkan, Okan}, title = {{Rehabilitation of a hydropower plant in DRC to empower surrounding communities by JLA Hydro}}, institution = {Alliance for Renewable Electrification}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://renewelec.org/rehabilitation-of-a-hydropower-plant-in-drc-to-empower-surrounding-communities-by-jla-hydro/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }