ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (Addis Fortune) – The global financial crisis and the resultant production cut in emerging economies, compounded by the foreign reserve crunch in Ethiopia, has threatened the supply of power transformers by state power utility, the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo).
The power monopoly has a limited supply of the transformers, such that orders placed by private building owners are being delayed, sources disclosed.
Apparently, there are requests made by the private establishments to the sole power supplier in the country to provide transformers of different capacity, but they have been placed on the waiting list, a source who says he is among those waiting to get a transformer, told Fortune on condition of anonymity.
“There is a current demand-supply problem now that our suppliers in India and China are affected by the global financial crisis,” Kebrom Kahesay, Sales and Marketing Work Process executive officer, said.
Mehret Debebe, general manager of EEPCo, also agrees that the problem that has knocked on most companies’ door globally has visited his corporation as well.
“We cannot say that the crisis has not got to our corporation,” Mehret told Fortune.
The electric power supplier’s establishment dates back to the time of Emperor Menelik II, who is credited for the start of power supply in Ethiopia from a generator he acquired to light up his palace.
At the moment, EEPCo is using its discretion in supplying transformers on the basis of the purposes of the buildings. Special purpose buildings, like hospitals and enterprises that produce export commodities, are being prioritized.
A customer, who claims to have completed the necessary payments, says he has been waiting to receive the 210 Kilovolt Ampere (KVA) transformer requested from the electric power supplier. Normally, the transformer would sometimes be supplied at the state power utility’s own request.
In the interim, the customer claims to have incurred 500,000 Br to 700,000 Br cost in acquiring a generator.
As a temporary solution to the problem, nearly 500 used transformers in the stores of the corporation, uninstalled from different spots due to replacements or change of arrangements, such as road constructions, are under maintenance.
“These transformers could help to narrow the supply-demand gap,” Kebrom told Fortune.
The nation’s sole electric power supplier has already placed a special order to import nearly 4,000 transformers with less than 40 days to go before the delivery, according the Sales and Marketing Work Process Executive Officer.
With about 1.7 million customers, of which 40pc are dwellers in the capital, EEPCo produces 800Mw of power daily, a supply short of the normal demand by 80Mw, and that of peak hours by 150Mw. Demand is also on the increase by 13pc every year.
Though the introduction of electric power in Ethiopia dates back to Menelik’s time, generation and distribution of power has a history a little over six decades old.
In mid 1940s, an Italian company, Campani Nazionale Imprezi, was allowed to generate, distribute and sell electricity in Ethiopia. However, the situation changed in 1955 after the formation of the Shewa Electric Power, allowing the government of Ethiopia to take over the generation, distribution and sale of electricity to Addis Abeba and its surroundings.
The Ethiopian Electric Light and Power Authority (EELPA) was then formed in 1963 for this purpose.
EELPA, in the past decade, has undergone restructuring to become EEPCo.