Sudan Asked to procure 1,000MW Electricity from Ethiopia, says EEP
ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) on Thursday said Sudan has requested to purchase 1,000 megawatts of electric power from Ethiopia.
The request came as Ethiopia prepatrs to start generating power with the two turbines of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) within weeks.
Sudan has made its interest to purchase 1,000 megawatts of power clear, said Andualem Sia, EEP’s Planning Executive Director, speaking to the state-run Ethiopian news agency.
The EEP, a state-owned electric producer, is currently in talks with experts of the neighboring nation, he added.
EEP experts went to Khartoum last month and Sudanese experts would soon arrive in Ethiopia to continue the talks.
Sudan is not the only one that inquired about purchasing electric power.
South Sudan, Kenya and other neighboring nations have also expressed interest in purchasing Electricity, said the planning expert at the EEP.
The construction of a transmission line capable of carrying 500 kilowatts of electricity to Kenya is nearly complete, he said.
Members of the Kenyan parliament will visit Ethiopia next week to discuss the issue, he added.
The 1,045km line, which interconnects at the Moyale common border between Ethiopia and Kenya, has the capacity to carry 2,000MW of electricity in either direction.
Meanwhile, similar interests have also been expressed from South Sudan and Somaliland authorities.
According to EEP, a study is being conducted with East Africa Power Policy with the support of the World Bank to enable Somaliland to get power from Ethiopia.
South Sudan, on the other hand, has expressed its interest to buy electric power formally in a letter, he said.
A team of experts is expected to travel to South Sudan soon to conduct a study on the construction of the power-line, according to Andualem.
EEP’s official said GERD is of great benefit not only to Ethiopia but also to Africa and the demands for electricity expressed from neighboring countries shows their hope for the completion of the dam.
With an announced electricity production capacity of nearly 6,500 megawatts, it could become the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa.
Featured Image: Ethiopia has initiated to construct a number of large hydroelectric projects which includes 2,160 MW Gilgel Gibe Ⅳ (Koysha) hydropower project as well as the massive 6,500 MW Renaissance Dam (pictured), being built on the Abbay (Blue Nile) River, which will be the largest dam in Africa upon completion [Photo File]
