Ethiopia secured USD 140 million from energy exports in the recently concluded Ethiopian fiscal year, marking a 16 percent increase from the previous year. A 17 percent increase was registered in domestic energy demand compared to last year.

In a press briefing on the annual performance, the CEO of Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) Ashebir Balcha revealed that USD 27 million of the revenue came from supplying energy to data mining operations. He also shared plans for the current fiscal year, with EEP targeting over USD 260 million in energy export earnings.

As part of the country's efforts to expand its energy export market, Ashebir announced that transmission testing to Tanzania will commence next month. Ethiopia has been exporting electricity to Sudan and Djibouti for a decade. Other neighboring countries such as South Sudan are also requesting to import power from Ethiopia. The country started exporting power to Kenya in November 2022.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which generated 17 percent of the country’s total energy output despite operating only two of its 13 turbines during the last fiscal year. With additional energy set to be generated from GERD, Ethiopia's domestic energy supply is expected to rise. Gibe III, GERD, and Tana Beles contributed 34 percent, 17 percent, and 9.6 percent, respectively, to Ethiopia's overall energy production. Hydro and wind power accounted for 96 percent and 3.3 percent of the energy mix, while waste energy made up a marginal 0.2 percent.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Additional source: 2Merkato Archives