South Sudan to import electricity from Ethiopian dam
Ethiopia to supply South Sudan with electricity
Ethiopia and South Sudan have signed a memorandum of understanding to sell electricity and other inexpensive energy to Juba.
Ethiopia has agreed to export an initial 100 megawatts of electricity to South Sudan over the next three years, according to Ethiopian Electric Power.
Last week, a South Sudanese delegation led by Energy and Dam Minister Peter Marcello undertook a working visit to Ethiopia to finalize a previous memorandum of understanding on electricity purchase between the two nations.
Ethiopian Electric Power Corporate Planning Executive Officer Andualem Siaa informed state media that in the first part of the three-year agreement, Ethiopia will export 100 megawatts of electricity to South Sudan, followed by 400 megawatts.
Andualem stated that Ethiopia is working hard to provide electric electricity to its neighbors as part of regional integration.
The South Sudan minister stated during the signing ceremony that the deal will allow his country to speed up the construction of transmission infrastructure to connect the two countries’ power networks.
Peter Marcelo, who noted that electricity is the backbone of South Sudan’s economy, said that electricity will play a vital role in the country’s development projects and overall economic progress.
Ethiopia has agreed to sell electricity to Kenya and Tanzania as part of its plan to become the region’s clean energy exporter. It also intends to supply Rwanda, Somaliland, and Burundi with electricity. It sees the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (Gerd) and smaller dams as key hydropower supplies for the country’s 110 million inhabitants and neighboring nations.
Local power distribution is behind schedule, with over 60% of the population being without power.
Ethiopia currently sells 254 megawatts of electricity to Sudan and Djibouti, its neighbors. According to an annual report, it earned $37 million in electricity exports to the two countries in the last nine months.
The contentious Gerd hydroelectric project, Africa’s largest hydroelectric project with a potential of up to 5,000 MW, began generating energy for the first time in February.
