Ethiopia says demand for electric power rising

April 5, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — The demand for electric power is on the rise due to the economic growth being registered in Ethiopia over the past few years, the state-owned Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) said Thursday.

EEPCo General Manager Mihret Debebe told journalists that the country’s only electric power company, which used to provide electric power service only to eight towns two years ago, now has the capacity to enable over 800 towns to get access to electric power.

In its universal access project, the company had set plans to supply electric service to 857 towns, Mihret said, adding it has so far made 200 towns beneficiaries of the service.

He said the company has successfully achieved 96 percent of electric power distribution schemes planned to be implemented during the current fiscal year.

While going operational, the five electric power generation projects, which are under construction, will increase the country’s electric power generation capacity to 4,200 mw from 800 mw, presently, said Mihret.

The electric power transmission capacity of the company will increase by fivefold while the number of electric power subscribers will increase to 2.6 million, which currently stands at 1 million, he added.

The company has conducted a study on supply and demand of electric power in the country, he said, adding that measures are being taken to tackle possible electric power shortage that may arise in 2008 due to establishment of huge cement and flower industries in the country.

The government has attached due attention to the enrichment of the electric industry which is believed to generate hard currency by exporting electric power, he said.

EEPCo is engaged in preliminary activities to export electric power to Kenya, Djibouti and Sudan, he added.

(Xinhua)