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The Board of Directors of the Ethiopian Electric
Power Corporation (EEPCo), chaired by Girma Birru,
minister of Trade and Industry (MoTI), has
instructed the state utility monopoly to begin a
preferential treatment for companies engaged in
export, in a bid to provide them with
round-the-clock electric power supply. The Board
decided this on May 8, 2008, following concerns over
a potential failure to meet the nation’s export
target set by the Ministry.
Ministry of Trade and Industry wants to see the
export sector grow by five per cent annually. Its
target for this budget year is 1.7 Billion dollars.
In the 2006/2007 budget year, it envisaged fetching
1.5 billion dollars but failed to reach its target
by 300 million dollars.
In the first nine months of this budget year, the
country grossed one billion dollars in export
revenues, after targeting to earn 1.28 billion
dollars.
The current blackouts are feared to further
exacerbate this failure to attain the mark at the
end of the fourth quarter in the budget year.
In a discussion MoTI held with businesses, there
were a series of questions raised concerning the
power outage. The Ministry subsequently tabled the
concern to the management of the corporation.
Close to 150 companies engaged in the exports of
textile, leather, food-stuff and other goods are set
to benefit. This preferential treatment will also
extend to 90 flower farms chosen because the federal
government expects a significant return from them in
the budget year.
“We have given priority to these companies
considering their contributions to the national
economy,” Mehiret Debebe, general manager of EEPCo,
told Fortune.
This is pleasing news to Woinua Showatsega, owner
and managing director of Ethio-Japan Nylon and
Woinua Curtail Trading Plc. She told Fortune
that her company has been suffering from power
failure eight days a month, delaying the shipment of
four containers of garment worth 40,000 Euro.
“This is a significant
loss of income following the power blackout,” Woinua
told Fortune.
Following the heavy rains in the rainy season of
2006/2007, the seven dams of the country were filled
with huge amounts of water. In September 2007, Koka
and Gilgel Gibe dams had 110.3 and 1671 cubic metres
of water, respectively. An unanticipated 20pc volume
of evaporation, up by five per cent from what was
earlier projected due to global warming and an
increase in energy demand to 15pc is attributed to
the reduction of volumes of water in the country’s
dams, hence electric power shedding, according to
Afaw Dingamo, minister of Water Resources.
The power corporation has extended the daily power
cuts from 14 hours a day twice a week to 15 hours,
blaming small scale manufacturers’ attempt to make
up for their day hour loss at night.
Uninterrupted electric power supply to farms,
factories and industries, whose products are
destined for export markets, began last Thursday,
May 8, 2008, Fortune learnt.
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