A draft energy feed-in tariff proclamation, which lets the private sector to contribute power to the national system, is to be presented to the Council of Ministers by the Ministry of Water and Energy Resources (MWER). The draft bill was prepared and submitted to the MWER by the Ethiopian Electric Agency (EEA).

The draft tariff sets rates for private power suppliers producing electricity from different sources such as wind power, hydroelectric and biomass.

According to the rates set by the law the minimum rate for hydro power is 0.08 US dollars per 100kw of electricity and 0.10 US dollars for 500kw produced from wind power or biomass.  

The rate decreases as the amount of power produced increases. Therefore, EEPCo will pay 5.50 dollars for 25,000KW to 40,000KW of power generated through hydro electric power while paying 0.80 dollars for 100KW-500KW.

Independent power suppliers will need to sign a power sharing agreement with the Ethiopian Electric and Power Corporation which operates the national grid.

The lack of a Power Tariff law has meant that independent companies have never attempted to invest in producing energy, according to an energy expert.

The EEA met with the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations, experts from the Addis Ababa Institute of Technology, and the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) before submitting the draft proclamation. The draft had also been submitted to the former Ministry of Mines and Energy for comments twice.

Source: The Reporter