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 will be publicly financed, publicly 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. The role of RPCL is first and foremost to fast-track the implementation of the Regional Rusumo Falls Hydroelectric Project (RRFHP); RPCL also oversees the management partnership of development partners notably the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) that had shown interest in funding the Project. RPCL is the substantive owner of the Regional Rusumo Falls Hydroelectric Project.
A Project Shareholders Agreement (SHA), an Implementation Agreement (IA) and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) were signed in September 2013 for guiding the RRFH Project implementation and mechanisms for future power trading and sharing from the Project. 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 Regional Rusumo Falls Hydroelectric Project (RRFHP).
In January 2014, a Project Implementation Support Agreement (PISA) was signed between the project owner, RPCL, and the implementation agency, NELSAP-CU, establishing the relationship between the Implementing Agency and the Owner. NELSAP-CU, as mandated by the three countries through RPCL, is responsible for the overall implementation of the RRFHP during the preparation and construction phase through a Rusumo Project Implementation Unit.