Zurich, SWITZERLAND - The link supplies up to 1,000 megawatts of emission-free electricity from the Inga Falls hydropower plant in the far west of the country to the Kolwezi mining region in the south.

Hitachi Energy has announced that they have signed a long-term service agreement with Société Nationale d'Electricité (SNEL), the national electricity company of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to secure power supply in the country's most important power transmission asset: the Inga-Kolwezi high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link.

The link supplies up to 1,000 megawatts of emission-free electricity from the Inga Falls hydropower plant in the far west of the country to the Kolwezi mining region in the south. With a length of 1,700 kilometers (1056 miles), it is the longest HVDC link in Africa. It also enables the Democratic Republic of Congo to export surplus power to the member countries of the Southern African Power Pool.

"We are delighted to be continuing our long collaboration with SNEL to protect the nation's investment in its most important power transmission link," said Andreas Berthou, HVDC and HVDC Service Global Product Group Manager of Hitachi Energy. "This long-term service agreement demonstrates how we work closely with the customer to secure availability and reliability over the entire lifetime of the asset."

Source: Hitachi Energy