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The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) has
imported a sixth transformer to be installed at the
new power sub station, Lot-2, under construction in
Sululta area, officials of the corporation
disclosed.
The 137tn transformer arrived at the sub station
22Km north of Addis Abeba, on April 6, 2009,
according to Alemayehu Tekelearegay, project
manager.
About 150 trucks of other equipment to be used for
the same purpose also reached the project site in
the same week, said the manager.
MACCFA Logistics Plc, a local logistics company, is
in charge of all the ground work of the equipment
being imported. By the time Fortune went to
the press on Thursday night, another transformer to
be used for the same purpose was en route to the
Port of Djibouti and was expected to reach the
Ethiopian border on the next day.
EEPCo has procured 11 units of similar transformers;
six of them have so far arrived at the project site,
while five are in the process, sources at the
logistics company told Fortune.
Construction of the over 410 million Br worth Lot-2
power sub-station started more than seven months
ago; it is meant to transform the power generated by
Tana Beles Hydropower Station to increase the power
supplied to the area around Sululta and Addis Abeba.
Upon completion in about a year and half's time, the
power facility will have the capacity to transform
400Kv of electric power generated by the 7.1 billion
Br Tana Beles hydropower dam. The construction also
involves the installation of cables with a
transmission capacity of 230Kb from Sululta to
Gefersa area.
"Lot-2 is expected to be a key power station,
considering the fact that the previous sub station
in Debremarkos only has a capacity of transforming
230Kv," said Alemayehu.
Lot-2 is not the only sub station to be attached to
Tana Beles. There are three other similar
sub-stations under construction in different areas.
For instance, Lot-1 is currently under construction
in Bahir Dar town; the over 526 million Br worth sub
station is also to be linked to Tana Beles,
according to Alemayehu. The construction on this
project also involves the installation of
transmission cables from Tana Beles to Bahir Dar.
The over 388 million Br worth third sub station
project to be linked to the same power generation
station in Tana Beles - Lot-3A - likewise is under
construction in Debremarkos town of Amhara Regional
State. This project, like the other ones, involves
the installation of transmission cables with a
capacity of 400Kb.
Lot-3B is a 609.6 million Br worth project to
regulate power transmission between Bahir Dar to
Sululta. It is to be attached to Tana Beles and
entails the installation of cables with a
transmission capacity of 400Kb.
China CANCE Engineering, a Chinese construction
company, is undertaking the construction of the sub
stations and the installation of the transformers
and the transmission cables. The entire project is
expected to be completed by 2010, the manager told
Fortune.
This is part of EEPCo's strategy to meet the
nationwide demand for electric power which is
growing by 24pc each year, according to Misikir
Negash, EEPCo's Public Relations officer.
On March 5, 2009, EEPCo also signed an about five
million Birr worth agreement with CE Company,
another Chinese firm, to import 4.5 million CF-2
bulbs. This marks part of the plan to boost electric
supply by saving the power used by households,
according to Misikir. The bulbs, whose delivery is
expected in a month, will be distributed throughout
the country for free.
Through the five-year Universal Electric Access
Program (UEAP), the corporation targets electrifying
1,700 villages, Misikir said. By the end of the
program period in 2010/11, EEPCo envisions raising
the national electric coverage from the current 33pc
to 50pc, according to the officer.
By the year 2012/13, the construction of about six
power generating stations will have been completed:
Gilgel Gibe II, a 4.2 billion Br project to be
completed by the end of this year; Tekeze, a 4.23
billion project to be finalised in winter of this
year; Tana Beles, a 7.1 billion Br project set for
completion in 2009/10; Amertinesh, a 1.6 billion Br
hydroelectric project to be completed in 2010/2011;
Gilgel Gibe III, a 17.6 billion Br project, the
biggest of all with about 32pc the construction
already finalized; and Ashegoda Wind Power farm, a
2.3 billion project.
Over the next ten years, the corporation plans to
build power generation facilities to get 10,600Mw
from hydropower, 10,000Mw from wind and 5,000Mw from
geothermal power. |
