Ethiopia to Be 100 Percent Electrified By 2015

Ethiopia to be 100 percent electrified by 2015

ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) — Ethiopia would be 100 percent electrified by 2015, the year set to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the state-owned Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) said Tuesday.

The EEPCO General Manager Mihret Debebe told reporters that the entire population of the country, projected to be over 100 million, would have access to electricity by 2015.

Various hydro, geothermal and wind power generation, distribution and transmission projects, including construction of five major hydroelectric power generation stations, are accordingly well underway, he said.

The general manager said by 2010 the corporation would generate over 4000 mw power and install 135,000 km distribution lines as well as 12,000 km high voltage networks to electrify 6,000 towns and villages, thereby enabling 50 percent of the total population of the country to access electricity.

Official data show Ethiopia has economically exploitable hydropower potential of more than 30,000 mw. Despite the country’s huge hydroelectric potential, the exploitation rate is only about 2 percent.

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