Ethiopia: EEPCo divided into Two Separate Entities

18 December 2013Category: The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) is divided into two separate entities, the Ethiopian Electric Power and Ethiopian Electric Service, Ethiopian Press Agency reported. The corporation's power supply and electricity delivery services will be divided between the two new companies.“Accordingly, the Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) will be responsible for the power supply while EES will be responsible for delivering electricity services,” EEPCo Board Chair and Finance and Economic Cluster Coordinator with the Rank of Deputy Prime Minister Debretsion Gebre-Michael, said at a press conference yesterday.“There is also a possibility for the companies to further split in the future”, he added.Three Indian firms are are already awarded  a 2 year management contract of the Ethiopian Electric Service (EES), the company tasked with electricity delivery service, for US$ 21 million, according to the Ethiopian Press Agency. However, the management of the Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) will remain in the hands of Ethiopians. The government has appointed Engineer Azeb Asnake, former project manager of Gibe III, as CEO of the EEP.The split was made, as EEPCo could not carry on with its current structure because of the vast expansion of the power sector and the need for modernizing the service delivery of the company, Debretsion said.“The three Indian companies will look over the management of EES whose tasks include transmission lines, operation and distribution and sales,” Debretsion said.He also indicated that, the payment will be made every three month after a performance assessment, which include; revenue, customer satisfaction, operational efficiency and capacity building initiatives. In accordance with the performance, the payment may increase or decrease. “If the performance is below 60 per cent, the contract would be terminated,” Debretsion underlined.The management of the EES comprises 17 personnel from the Indian companies and five individual appointed by the Ethiopian government.

Source: Ethiopian Press Agency