EEPCo a half century on

By Groum Abate

The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) owns, manages and develops electricity generation, transmission and distribution facilities nationwide and is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Some say that it is celebrating its 10th anniversary, for reasons that when compared to current power generation and dams that are under construction, the corporation had not been efficient in the previous 40 years of its establishment.
Mihiret Debebe, the man that has made today’s EEPCo, served the corporation for almost a decade before he moved into his present position in 1996.
Mihret started his career at Melka Wakena Hydro Power station which is only power project executed during the Derg regime and the singl power plant in the 40 years of the establishment of the corporation.
Despite some problems the corporation has lept forward the last 10 years by building dams around the country, boosting the country’s power generation over 10 fold.
The late Emperor Haile Selassie once called his country the water tower of Africa.
Endowed with abundant water resources Ethiopia has the potential to generate a maximum of 30,000MW of hydro-electric power. Despite the immense potential, the country is able to generate only around 1000 MW. Only 17% of the 77 million Ethiopians have access to electricity.
Looking forward to enhancing the country's power generating capacity, EEPCo is operating under a new motto: Empowering Ethiopia into the new millennium.
Some years back, EEPCo completed the construction of Tis Abay II and Fincha IV power stations, with a generating capacity of 80 MW and 34MW respectively. In 2004, the corporation inaugurated Gilgel Gibe I, which has an installed capacity of 184 MW. Gilgel Gibe I was built by Italian construction company Salini Costruttori at a cost of 2.2 billion birr. The dam was built on the Omo-Gibe river located 250 km south-west of Addis Ababa, near Jimma town. In 2004, EEPCo embarked on another key project, Gibe II.
After the corporation and Salini finalized their contractual agreement to build Gibe II, the contractor commenced work on the project in 2005.  The power plant, which will have an installed capacity of 420 MW, will start generating power by 2008.
Salini is also building another hydro-power project on the Belesa river located 370 km north-west of Addis Ababa.
The Beles power station will have the capacity to generate 460MW when completed by the end of 2008. The cost of the project is estimated at 5.4 billion birr.
When celebrating the corporation golden jubilee the major contractor and, which in fact many agree the major partner in the power sector for the country, Salini Costruttori, should also be cheered.
Salini has been engaged in the major turnkey power projects of the corporation.
From surveying to financing Salini equally participates in almost all the major projects the corporation achieved in the last 10 years.
Established in 1940, Salini has more than 60 years of worldwide experience in the construction of roads, highways, railways, dams and hydroelectric plants, tunnels, water pipelines and civil and industrial works.
At present the Italian firm has works in hand for approximately 2 billion euros and has a net equity of 44 million euros.
The firm has a reputation of successfully completing a project on time.
The other major power project is Tekeze. A Chinese construction company is building the hydro-electric dam on the Tekeze river in Tigray Regional State at a cost of 5 billion birr.
The Tekeze power station, due to be completed by the year 2008, will have the capacity to generate 300 MW.
EEPCo designed a five-year strategic plan to boost electric coverage 100% from the existing 17 percent by the year 2010. The corporation's plan is to increase the country's power generating capacity to 4000 MW in the next five years. To realize the ambitious five-year plan, the corporation needs about 53 billion birr.
Recently EEPCo also announced the launch of another turnkey power project, Gilgel Gibe III. Gibe III, the third cascade power project on the Omo-Gibe river, will have the capacity to generate 1,870MW, the largest power project in the country.
The project, which will be finalized by the year 2011, would cost about 15 billion birr. Salini will undertake the construction and installation work on the project.
"As the price of oil is getting more expensive, hydropower could be the white oil of Ethiopia," an official of Salini also commented during the signing agreement of Gilgel Gibe III.
Mihret commented on Gibe III saying that it could move the corporation to achieve 40 percent of the target strategic generation capacity. 
EEPCo is also preparing to start new hydro-electric power projects in Chemoga-Yeda (318MW), Halele-Werabesa (374MW) and Ficha-Amerti-Neshe (40MW) hydro power projects, which are among the dozen planned hydro-electric projects in the country. In addition to the hydro-power projects, EEPCo is to introduce a wind power energy station and a coal-fired one. It also plans to produce electric power from the coal deposit found in the Yayu locality of west Ethiopia. The coal deposit is estimated at 10 million tons and studies indicate that 150 MW can be obtained.
Another plan for the corporation and yet the biggest income generating scheme is the export of electric power to Djibouti, Kenya and Sudan. And according to its 25-year master plan Egypt, Yemen and Eritrea are among the countries that it would export it’s electricity to, EEPCo under the supervision of the Ethiopian Electricity Agency (EEA) a Federal organ that regulates the activities of electricity suppliers for the supply of efficient, reliable and affordable electricity to the public and the Ministry of Infrastructure that is responsible for the development of all infrastructures in the country including the power sector, still has some of its old problems.
For example, from May 9 to May 12, which the corporation is celebrating its 50th anniversary, two different sub-cities each day encountered a partial power interruption.
The other project of the corporation is the rural electrification project.
The main objective of the Rural Electrification Program is to improve access to electricity in rural areas. In addition, preparation of rural electrification expansion plans using both conventional and non conventional schemes will be part of the sub-programme objectives. To this end a consulting firm identified least cost electrification schemes with particular emphasis on generation. Under this programme it was envisaged to electrify 210 towns and increase the number of towns which have access to electricity from 458 to 668, which the corporation completed according to plan.
According to a study Ethiopia has a potential of 30, 000MW hydro-electric power, 75 million m3 Natural Gas, 6m/s wind power, 700MW geothermal energy and almost none from fuel wood energy.
Out of this 0% of the natural gas and wind power is exploited and only 1% of the geothermal energy and 3% of the hydro-electric power potential is utilized.
Solar energy is also an unexploited energy source in the country, the study indicated.
History
The Ethiopian Electric Light and Power Authority (EELPA), which was established in 1956, after having undergone restructuring has been reorganized as the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo). Supply System
Presently the Corporation maintains two different power supply systems; namely, the Interconnected System (ICS), which is mainly supplied from hydropower plants, and the Self-Contained System (SCS), which consists of mini-hydropower plants and a number of isolated diesel generating units that are widely spread over the country.
Electrification Status
Number of electrified towns under EEPCo are 632 of which 563 are within the Interconnected System (ICS) and the remaining 69 within the Self-Contained System (SCS).
Generation
Inter Connected System ( ICS)
The ICS consists of 12 hydro, 25 diesel and one geothermal power plants with total installed capacity of over 1,000 MW, 200 MW and 7.3 MW respectively.
Over 98 % of the total generation in the country comes from the ICS.
Self Contained System ( SCS)
The SCS consists of three small hydro and several diesel power plants. Generation in this system is mainly by diesel power plants having an aggregate capacity of 31.66 MW. The contribution from the small hydropower plants is only 6.15 MW.

Milestones in the history of EEPCo
1898 Emperor Menelik II acquired a generator to light his palace
1936 Campani Nazionale Imprezi, Italian company is granted the right to generate, distribute and sell electricity in Ethiopia.
1948 Shewa Electric Power is established by the Ethiopian government to take over the generating, distributing and selling electricity to the then town of Addis Ababa and its vicinity.
1955 Ethiopian Electric Light and Power Authority (EELPA) was established for the purpose of generating, transmitting, distributing and selling electricity through out the country.
1997 After having undergone restructuring, EELPA has been reorganized as the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) which is responsible for generating, transmitting, distributing and selling electricity nation - wide.
Dams Generation capacity
Koka 43.2
Awash II 32.0
Awash III 32.0
Finchaa 134.0
Melka Wakana 153.0
Tis Abay I 11.4
Tis Abay II 73.0
Gilgel Gibe I 184.0
Geothermal
Aluto Langano 7.3
Transmission

The high voltage network consists of both 230 kV and 132 kV transmission voltages, and 66 kV & 45 kV sub-transmission voltages. Presently there are 6,489.22 kms of lines in service.
Supply of the distribution network is provided by step down substations connected to the respective transmission and sub-transmission voltages. Common winding arrangements include 45/15 kV, 66/15 kV, 132/15 kV and 132/66/15 kV. In total there are 104 transmission substations and substations in hydro power stations supplying the distribution system
Distribution
Power distribution in both ICS and SCS is effected at a primary voltage of 15 kV, consisting entirely of 3-phases, 3-wire feeders, and is stepped down to a utilization voltage of 380/220 V (3-phase, 4-wire) using 3-phase transformers.
The distribution system consists of 11,169.99 km of 15 kV lines, 8,140 distribution transformers and 9,796.28 km of 380/220V lines. At present 717,007 customers are connected in both the ICS and SCS.