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Ethiopia - Power Shedding to affect 1% of GDP

By Groum Abate

Capital

The Ethiopian Electric and Power Corporation (EEPCo) declared that the ongoing power cuts would affect the economy to the level of one percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Last year power interruptions had caused substantial damage to the economy, estimated at over a billion birr according to reports.

During the past year EEPCo had faced high electric demand that had resulted in some 3,000 towns of the nation experiencing a minimum of 6 hours of power cuts daily.
It is anticipated, Mihiret Debebe CEO of EEPCo told Capital, that the current power cuts would last until the rainy season and will affect one per cent of the country's GDP.
EEPCo admitted that there is a major power shortage across the nation, after being quiet about it for over a month. This year, towns across the nation would face 14 hours power cut one week and 28 hours on the other week.

The rising number of high power consuming industries' establishment combined with wide investments and delay in completion of the hydropower projects have contributed to the power deficiency the nation is facing. Due to the shortage, EEPCo is now forced to spend close to 100 million birr monthly in fuel costs for generators to supplement power.
EEPCo has for the last couple of weeks started shedding power as its dams were depleted due to lack of adequate rain water flow.

On Tuesday, EEPCo officially announced the power shedding scheme after the public, especially those in manufacturing, agonized for a long period as to when and for how long the rationing will be implemented. The shedding that would occur six days a month is expected to solve the 120 MW power shortage.

EEPCo also disclosed that the interruptions may occur beyond the specified shift days until the current power shortage is solved.
Alemayehu Tegenu, Minister of Mines and Energy along with Mihiret Debebe announced on the press briefing that the corporation has acquired diesel generators that could solve some of the power shortage.

It was stated that in this current fiscal year consumption of electric power has increased by 24 per cent from last year’s.

The minister further noted that the increasing number of new industries such as cement factories as well as the expansion of investment activities in various parts of the country is the main reason for the high demand of electricity.

EEPCo's officials had previously targeted that by 2008, the construction of Tekeze Hydro Power Dam with a capacity of 300MW, Gilgel Gibe II with a capacity of 420MW and Beles Hydro Power Dam with 435MW capacity would be completed with neighboring Djibouti, Kenya and Sudan being the most likely markets. It estimated it could earn tens of millions of dollars a year from power export. Unfortunately, due to various unforeseen reasons, the corporation has currently failed to satisfy even local energy demands.
Ethiopia has an initial agreement to export 200MW to Djibouti and Sudan, and 500MW to Kenya. Officials believe that the power export in a few years will take over coffee as the leading foreign currency earner.

World Bank’s data shows that the Democratic Republic of Congo has a 40GW hydro power resource potential on the Congo River that is yet to be harnessed. Ethiopia is second with 35GW hydro power potential.