GE Power agreed to deliver a $40 million electricity transmission system improvement turnkey project with Ethiopian Electric Power, the country's state-owned electricity producer, GE announced Wednesday.
According to the press release, the project will raise access to electricity by transferring bulk electric power to the southern and southwestern parts of the country.
GE Power will deliver 11 high-voltage substations, which it said would 'increase economic activities and raise access to reliable supply of electricity in several towns', as well as 'help reduce technical losses in the transmission system in the medium term'.
Over 70 percent of people in Ethiopia have no access to electricity although the grid covers about 60 percent of the towns in the country, according to the statement.
Lazarus Angbazo, regional leader for GE's Grid Solutions Business in sub-Saharan Africa, said the project would 'significantly reduce high transmission losses while improving system efficiency, stability and reliability'.
Wudineh Yemane, project manager at Ethiopian Electric Power, said the project would support overall electrification plans of Ethiopia, provide sustainable power and allow the transmission of reliable power from the interconnected system to demand centers across the country and in the region.
'It will facilitate the implementation of the Universal Electrification Access program as well as the government's ambition to export energy to Sudan,' he added.
The project will also result in increased economic activities and enable Ethiopia to further exploit its energy potential, according to GE’s country director in Ethiopia, Daniel Hailu.
GE Power's Grid Solutions business has designed and implemented over 1,700 substation projects in the last 10 years, according to the statement.
By Hale Turkes
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr