Rusumo Power Company Limited (RPCL) is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) established and created by three beneficiary countries: Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania. RPCL is a jointly owned utility and institutional mechanism for the co-management of power generation and supply to national power utilities. The Rusumo Power Company Limited/SPV is publicly financed and owned and privately managed to oversee activities during Power Plant operations.
Rusumo Power Company Limited (RPCL) was incorporated in Rwanda in November 2013. RPCL has a certificate of compliance in Tanzania since November 2013. During the construction period of the 80MW Power Plant, RPCL was responsible for fast-tracking the implementation of the Regional Rusumo Falls Hydroelectric Project (RRFHP). RPCL was also overseeing the management and partnership of development partners notably the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) that was funding the Project.
A Project Shareholders Agreement (SHA), an Implementation Agreement (IA) and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) were signed in September 2013 for guiding the Regional Rusumo Falls Hydroelectric Project (RRFHP)’s implementation and mechanisms for future power trading. The Project being complex and transboundary in nature, RPCL delegated and authorized NELSAP-CU, an investment arm of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) to implement the RRFHP.
In January 2014, a Project Implementation Support Agreement (PISA) was signed between RPCL, the project owner and NELSAP-CU the implementing agency where RPCL was responsible to oversee implementation of the RRFHP during the preparation and construction phase through a Rusumo Project Implementation Unit.