Sudan aspires to increase electricity production by 2020

August 2, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The technical committee for the economic development sector at the Sudanese cabinet on Sunday has approved the 2015-2020 framework document for promoting the electricity sector.

The document, which was presented by the undersecretary of the ministry of electricity and water resources, Musa Omer Abu al-Gasim, aims to raise the annual production capacity of the Hydro-electric generation from 1500 to 2000 Gigawatts / Hour.

According to the document, the thermoelectric power generation would increase from 900 to 4,555 Megawatts by the end of 2020.

It should be recalled that the Upper Atbara and Setait dams which would be inaugurated by early next year are expected to add 320 Megawatts to the national electricity grid.

Sudan’s total production of electricity currently stands at 2400 Megawatts, of which 1250 Megawatts are produced by Merowe dam.

The document also seeks to include all major towns in the war-torn states of Darfur, South Kordofan and the Blue Nile in the national electricity grid.

Last Friday, the Sudanese Electricity Transmission Company (SETCO) signed a $50 million contract with the Chinese, Shanghai Electric Group Company to link the power line in Darfur to the national electricity grid.

The document further aims to reduce the total electric power transmission and distribution losses to %15 besides localizing the manufacturing of the electrical equipments.

The technical committee for the economic development sector at the cabinet has recommended the provision of the necessary funding to complete the existing electricity projects and the future plans.

Sudan has a 40% electricity shortage and as of late the capital Khartoum has been plagued with power outages which have also exacerbated water cuts.

Last week, the government shocked its citizens this month by announcing its intention to increase the electricity and water consumption tariffs by 100% in order to ensure stability of electricity and water supplies services, after major outages that caused a wave of protests in Khartoum neighbourhoods over the past two months.

Sudanese opposition, for its part, called for general mobilization to resist the anticipated increases in water and electricity tariffs.

The country has witnessed violent protests in September 2013 which claimed the lives of hundreds after the government lifted fuel subsidies.

(ST)