Sudan Seeks to Purchase Electricity From Ethiopia

July 22, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan and Ethiopia signed an agreement this week on developing studies on connecting power grids at 500 kilovolts (kV) which would allow the former to purchase electricity produced by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, when completed, will reduce the capacity of the Aswan High Dam, helping to save about six billion cubic metres of water. Image courtesy of Hajor.

Sudan news agency (SUNA) said the directors of the Sudanese and Ethiopian power corporations picked an Italian firm to conduct the study.

When completed as planned in 2017, the $4.3 billion dam which is being built in the Benishangul Gumuz region near the Sudanese border will have an electric generation capacity of 6,000 megawatts (MW).

Sudan has a 40% electricity shortage and as of late the capital Khartoum has been plagued with power outages which have also exacerbated water cuts.

GERD has been a source of controversy with Egypt warning that it will reduce its Nile water flow in violation of colonial agreements.

The three countries are meeting in Khartoum to discuss Egyptian reservations on GERD evaluation proposals submitted by French and Dutch consultancy firms.

(ST)