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Tanzania and Ethiopia preparing 400 MW PPA ahead of Eastern Africa Power Pool talks

Alexander Richter 7 Eyl 2016

Ahead of meetings and talks of the Eastern Africa Power Pool, Tanzania and Ethiopia are preparing a 400 MW Power Purchase Agreement. Under the agreement Tanzania would be buying power from Ethiopia, including from planned geothermal power plants.

The Eastern Africa Power Pool, founded in 2005, aims at fostering interconnection of electricity transmission between the countries in East Africa. With the the pool it is aimed at guaranteeing an optimum development of energy resources in the region.

In preparation for a meeting of the Pool, the governments of Tanzania and Ethiopia are now finalising an arrangement that would end in a 400 MW power purchase agreement.

With the ambitious renewable energy development plans for Ethiopia, the country could become a major supplier of electricity for the region.

“These include untapped geothermal, solar and wind energy. At the moment Ethiopia is generating 6,000 megawatts, which can be accessible to neighbouring states,” Felchesmi Mramba, the Managing Director of the Tanzanian power utility company (TANESCO) said last week.

The countries part of the East Africa Power Pool, include Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Eritrea and Tanzania. Kenya and and Ethiopia are the countries that could become major contributors of clean renewable geothermal power into the pool.

With the planned agreement between Tanzania and Ethiopia, Ethiopia could be selling power from its planned geothermal power plants to Tanzania. There are though also Burundi and Rwanda that have shown interest in buying electricity from Ethiopia.

Source: GeeskaAfrika