- Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) has signed a MoU to supply 100MW to South Sudan within the next three years with the view of upping the supply to 400 MW therafter.
- The MoU was concluded by Peter Marcello, Minister of Energy and Dams in the Republic of South Sudan, and representatives from Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance, during a South Sudanese official visit to Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa earlier this month.
- Ethiopia recently began producing electricity for the first time from its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Read more
- The 6450MW facility and Africa’s biggest hydropower plant, comprises a concrete gravity dam on the Blue Nile River with a storage capacity of 70 billion cubic metres (bcm) of water, one outdoor powerhouse on each bank of the river, three spillways, and a saddle dam.
In terms of the agreement, the first step of the power purchase plan will entail a feasibility study conducted by both countries in the next year. In the two years following the study, Ethiopia and South Sudan will initially construct a 357 kilometer long 230kV line from Gambela 2 distribution station to South Sudans’ Malakal region. Thereafter the plan is to construct another 700km line from Ethiopia’s Tepi distribution center to South Sudan’s capital city, Juba.
Map indicating Blue Nile and location of the Grand Renaissance Dam. Credit: GBA
According to the agreement, the research works are planned to be completed within one year and construction of the line over the following two years.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
