A delegation from the government and the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) is scheduled to sign an official and binding agreement with Djibouti tomorrow for the export of electricity.

Ethiopia was exporting electricity to Djibouti on a trial basis for the last four months charging Djibouti 0.70 dollars a kilowatt.

The 65 million dollar project, largely financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), aims to raise access to electricity in Djibouti to 60 percent by 2015 which was 49.5 percent in 2003. 

Substation construction work included an extension to the existing Dire Dawa substation, involving two 230-kV lines. One circuit is used to supply Adigala, the principal Ethiopian border town along the 230-kV transmission line route.

Another substation has been constructed, which will also supply another 11 Ethiopian border towns, in the vicinity of Aysha, Dewele and Harewa, with a network comprising 230 km of 33-kV overhead line.

Djibouti used to consume about 0.17 billion kwh in 2000. And by the end of 2006 it was consuming o.22 billion kwh. According to recent documents, the country’s annual consumption of electricity from domestic and imported sources has reached 0.26 billion kwh.

Power demand in Djibouti is expected to grow from about 90 megawatt to 175 megawatt over the next fifteen years.

It is expected that the transmission line to Djibouti from Ethiopia will supply up to 75 percent of the Djibouti’s current demand.

Source: Fortune