Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), the country’s state-owned power company, has signed an agreement to sell 100 megawatts of power to South Sudan for the next three years.
The MoU is critical to satisfying electricity demand in South Sudan while also raising revenue for Ethiopia, with plans to expand imports to 400MW gradually.
After meeting with the South Sudanese team, Ethiopian Electric Power Corporate Planning Executive Officer Andualem Sia stated that his country aims to offer electric power to its neighbours to generate foreign money while also addressing their energy needs.
During an official visit by a delegation from South Sudan to Ethiopia, the arrangement was announced on the margins of signing a Memorandum of Understanding between officials from the two nations for an electrical interconnection project.
The first step of the power purchase plan, according to the agreement, will be a feasibility study done by both countries in the coming year.
Ethiopia and South Sudan will build a 357km, 230kv transmission line connecting Ethiopia’s Gambella region to South Sudan’s Malakal region two years after the research.
In addition, a 700-kilometre line will be built from Ethiopia’s Tepi distribution centre to Juba, South Sudan’s capital.
According to the MoU, the study is to be completed within a year; construction is also to be completed in the next two years, paving the path for power purchase agreements.
In addition, the two countries have agreed to form a joint technical committee to begin work on future projects.
During a South Sudanese official visit to Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa in the first week of May, Peter Marcello, Minister of Energy and Dams in the Republic of South Sudan, and representatives from Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance finalized the MoU.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com