South Sudan, Ethiopia Sign 100 MW Electricity Trade Agreement

South Sudan and Ethiopia’s Electricity Interconnection

The Republic of South Sudan has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with regional neighbor Ethiopia for the purchase of 100 MW of electricity over the next three years. With plans to gradually increase imports to 400 MW, the MoU is key to meeting electricity demand in South Sudan, while increasing revenue for Ethiopia. As per the terms of the agreement, the first step of the power purchase plan will entail a feasibility study conducted by both countries in the next year.

In the two years following the study, Ethiopia and South Sudan will initially construct a 357 km, 230 kv transmission line that will connect Ethiopia’s Gambella region to South Sudan’s Malakal region with plans to construct another 700 km line from Ethiopia’s Tepi distribution center to South Sudan’s capital city, Juba, thereafter.

The MoU was finalized by H.E. Peter Marcello, Minister of Energy and Dams in the Republic of South Sudan together with representatives from Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance, during a South Sudanese official visit to Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa in the first week of May.