Energy

Ethiopia has a two-phase electrification plan; in the first five years there is a focus on hydro power and geothermal power. Ethiopia has 400 MW of installed capacity of which 350 MW is fully operational, most of which is hydro power. It is estimated that Ethiopia has the resources to harness hydro energy resources amounting to 160 billion kilowatts of which only 1% is currently being tapped, so the potential is enormous.

There are five hydro station in operation and construction of a sixth one, capable of generating 180 MW, has recently begun at Gelgal Gibe. A 73 megawatt hydro station is being built at Tiss Abay near the Blue Nile Falls by a group of Ethiopian, Yugoslav, French and Chinese companies. Other stations are being planned near lakes at Zouai, where a pilot scheme will be completed soon. There are also projects in Takezze and Gojeb, both of 350 megawatt capacity, which are planned to come on line in 2003. They are both expected to be funded exclusively by the government, even thouhg the World Bank signed a US$200 million credit for Ethiopia’s hydro power development program in January this year.

When completed, the Gelgal Gibe station will have three turbines, each with an output of 61 megawatts with its own generator. The first phase of the project is expected to be operational by the year 2002. The next two phases will be completed shortly after, within two months of each other. Once operational, the station is expected to increase Ethiopia’s electrical output by 45%. Part of the station construction is to be financed by the World Bank and European Investment Bank.

Earlier this year the government allocated 120 million birr for seven standby diesel generators with a total capacity of 21 megawatts. A seven megawatt geothermal plant at Aluto Langana, developed by an Israeli concern, is due to come on stream this year and will test the feasibility of harnessing this potentially important power source.

Renewable energy source like bio-mass and solar energy are also being studied. This is an area where private investors could be involved.

At present the only source of energy for the vast majority of Ethiopians is wood bio-mass, but more advanced large-scale energy sources are now being developed and more and more people now have access to a modern energy supply. The government has funded a 300km extension of the power grid in early June. Another transmission line is being erected to western Ethiopia and will give those living around Nekempt and Ghimbie access to power. A further extension of the grid to the south and east will be needed to full harness the resources of the Calub gas field. With proven reserves of 2.7 trillion cubic feet, the field could fuel turbine generators for many years, but it is in a remote location and the gas recovered is not presently being considered for electricity generation.

A new energy policy is now being implemented with the objective of reducing the misuse of energy and levels of pollution while correcting the imbalance of natural resource utilisation. Within this policy, the government has revised the current legal and regulatory framework and divided the national power authority into three, one of which is the Ethiopian Electric Agency, whose main objective is to promote the development of efficient, reliable, high quality and economical electrical services.