The Democratic Republic of Congo is moving forward with plans to host the headquarters of the Central Africa Electricity Regulatory Commission (CORREAC) , the body responsible for regulating the electricity market within the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).

The progress follows an ECCAS mission that visited Kinshasa from Nov. 24 to 28, 2025. The delegation was led by Energy Director Désiré Armand Ndemazagoa Backotta, representing the president of the Commission.

According to the Congolese Electricity Regulatory Authority (ARE), which released the mission’s findings, the official inauguration of the CORREAC headquarters is scheduled for the first quarter of 2026. A first assessment mission was carried out in Kinshasa from Oct. 7 to 10, 2025.

Following that initial visit, the ARE concluded that the DRC met the required conditions to host the institution. These included community contributions, availability of suitable facilities and a commitment to finalize a headquarters agreement before the end of 2025.

CORREAC will serve as the regional regulator for electricity trade and markets among ECCAS member states. Its responsibilities will include overseeing cross-border power flows, regulating tariffs, harmonizing operating rules, managing disputes and supervising the regional market.

According to the National Energy Compact, which aims to raise the country’s electricity access rate from 21.5% to 62.5% by 2030, the DRC intends to position itself as Central Africa’s energy hub. The roadmap sets out an ambitious regional integration agenda, including tariff harmonization, technical interconnections, transnational energy corridors, intergovernmental agreements, participation in regional power pools and infrastructure adapted for electricity exports.

The idea of creating a regional regulator originated within the Central African Power Pool (PEAC), the ECCAS institution responsible for coordinating energy policies, promoting interconnections and facilitating regional electricity trade. The goal is to build an integrated market capable of harnessing the region’s energy potential, particularly hydropower, while providing regulatory oversight, pricing coordination and joint management of cross-border flows.

The groundwork began in July 2022, when delegates from member states met in Kinshasa under the leadership of the DRC’s ARE to draft the statutes, define the institutional organization, establish headquarters requirements and outline the operational framework for the future regulator.

Since then, the initiative has advanced steadily. In 2024, the Project to Support the Development of the Institutional and Regulatory Framework for Electricity in Central Africa (Padcre-AC) was launched with African Development Bank support to help make CORREAC operational, fund the startup unit, recruit key staff and prepare the regional regulatory framework.

The next steps include signing the headquarters agreement before the end of 2025, installing the startup unit head and legal expert in Kinshasa in January 2026, and officially inaugurating the CORREAC headquarters in the first quarter of 2026.

Boaz Kabeya