Tanzania has agreed to purchase 400MW of hydroelectricity from Ethiopia, the fourth African nation to sign a power purchase deal with the country joining Kenya, Djibouti and Sudan.
Ethiopia’s national power company (EEP) announced the deal at the end of August, with CEO Azeb Asnake stating that the agreement between the two countries “will foster economic integration and strengthen multilateral ties between the two countries.”
The deal will also create further economic integration between Tanzania and Kenya as the latter sits between Ethiopia and Tanzania, Asnake said.
Ethiopia has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Burundi and Rwanda and plans to link its grid with South Sudan, Uganda and Yemen.
Ethiopia’s total potential power production capacity from hydro and geothermal, wind and solar energy amounts to over 60,000MW. Africa’s current capacity is about 147,000MW.