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The Egyptian cable manufacturing firm, El Sewedy, is
to supply three generators each with 40wm generation
capacity to the state owned utility company, the
Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo),
sources disclosed to Fortune.
These generators, planned to be erected in Sebeta,
Geferssa and Mekanisa areas -where the power company
has substations transmitting power to the capital -
will be brought to EEPCo through leasing. These
substations were also preferred among seven sites
for their capacity in carrying more watts to be
generated from the generators, EEPCo officials told
Fortune.
Their lease and operation cost will be financed
through a loan EEPCo will secure from the Islamic
Development Bank (IsDB), based in Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia, according to these sources. They are
designed to provide energy provision security to
Addis Abeba, a city with the largest presence of
diplomatic corps perhaps next to Washington D.C. and
Brussels.
Addis Abeba's power demand is estimated to be 40pc
of the 3,728gw power produced per hour. With the
power crises evident last year, EEPCo wants to give
priority to manage Addis Abeba's power blackouts
with two contingency plans to produce 220mw power to
be used in case of emergency, according to its
officials. EEPCo has been working on this plan since
July 2009.
EEPCo has secured pledges from the World Bank and
IsDB to identify what sort of alternative power
sources can be used to keep Addis out of darkness,
if there is power outage. This is immanent for lack
of not sufficient number of dams, but more so for
water volumes are kept far lower than projected,
according to an expert involved in the discussion
between EPPCo and El Sewedy.
This has compelled EEPCo to scout for alternative
energy generation ways, including geothermal, wind
and diesel powered generators.
3,728Gw
The national production of power produced per hour.
Addis Abeba demands 40pc of this power generation
capacity.
220Mw
EEPCo wants to produce this amount of power to
manage Addis Abeba's power blackouts.
The World Bank, for instance, will provide the
financing for the alternative power source to
produce 100mw while IsDB will finance the production
of 120mw. The German consulting firm, Fichtner GmbH
& Co, has been hired as consultant to study the
deficit between power demand and supply. It is also
expected to suggest alternative power sources after
its study, to take one month and half, is to start
this week, Mekuria Lemma, head of the Strategic
Management and Programming Department of EEPCo.
Senior managers at EEPCo are also expected to decide
on the suggestion of El Sewedy whether to purchase
or lease the generators as well as whether they
should be diesel or gasoline powered, according to
Mekuria.
This will not be generators leased for the first
time by EEPCo. It has leased generators from the
British Aggreko and Encom International are running
in Adama (Nazareth) and Bishoftu (Debre Zeit) towns,
99Km and 47Km east of Addis Abeba, respectively.
Each has a generation capacity of 30mw, put into the
national grid. Another generator originally planned
to be erected in Mekanisa, with generation capacity
of 30mw, failed to materialize; Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi balmed the World Bank for breaking its
promises of providing the finance, an allegation
denied by Ken Ohashi, country director of the World
Bank for Ethiopia and Sudan.
Although the two generators running in Adama and
Bishoftu, with a running cost of more than half
billion Birr, were leased for six months, the
prolonged crises in power provision had compelled
managers of EEPCo extend the lease period.
"We need to look at the demand and supply gap before
we decide to continue the term for the lease,"
Mihret Debebe, chief executive officer (CEO) of
EEPCo, told Fortune.
Experts projected continued crises in power
provision despite a completion of major dams in the
pipeline. For instance, the hydro electric dam at
Gigel Gibe II (420mw) is scheduled to be inaugurated
in the presence of Prime Minister in November 2009,
while Tana Beles (460mw) is planned to be completed
this year. Tekeze (300mw) has already begin
generating power from one of its four turbines. But
none of them will hold sufficient water, experts
claim.
EEPCo is planning its way out to prevent the power
crisis the country faced because of lack of water in
the reservoirs of the operational dams, according to
its senior managers.
It includes encouraging an efficient use of electric
power; the Corporation distributed 350,000 Compact
Fluorescent Lamps (CFL), energy efficient bulbs that
can replace the light bulbs currently in use. EEPCo
has been distributing 4.5 million CFLs starting June
2009, with the expectation of lessening consumption.
Bur experts see little effect of this. Demand is
growing by an annual average of 25pc, while the
national capability to complete additional
generation source takes an average of five years.
These experts see what EEPCo is seen doing now as
fire fighting.
"However painful, they should stop giving service to
new household clients for a while, and focus on
industrial and service sectors," said a former
senior government involved in the energy sector.
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