Tigrai Online Admin
April. 17 2011

Ethiopia has huge hydro electric power potential; however due to lack of brave and committed government and geopolitical restraints it has one of the lowest electrical consumption per capita in the world. The Egyptians has been playing dirty tricks for years to block Ethiopia from using it’s god given natural resource. They have been actively working directly and indirectly to block Ethiopia from getting international finance, they use threats of Military action, they have been supporting terrorist groups like ONLF, OLF, AL Shabb, and the Shabiya thugs in Eritrea to destabilize our country. They are behind the fake environmental organizations like Survival international, Friends of Lake Turkana, and International Rivers that oppose construction of Ethiopian dams and our economic development in general.

Since the EPRDF came to power in 1990 it has been trying to transform the country to becoming a hydroelectric super power in Africa. Ethiopia cannot be intimidated by any country from constructing dams on the Nile River. On April 2 2011 at the opening ceremony of the construction of the Great Millennium Dam; Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said “nothing can stop us from exercising our rights”

Lets see the historical and present electrical power development in Ethiopia.

1. First Ethiopian Dam on Akaki River 1932 6 megawatt


2. Tis Abay I on Nile River in 1953 11.5 megawatt


3. Koka Dam Awash River in 1960 42.3 megawatt


4. Awash II Awash River in 1966 32 megawatt


5. Awash III Awash River in 1971 32 megawatt


6. Fincha Dam Fincha River in 1973 100 megawatt


7. Melka Wekena Dam 1989 153 megawatt


8. Sor Dam 1990 5 megawatt

Before EPRDF Ethiopia exploited less than 400 mega watt in total.

9. Tis Abay II 2001 75 mega watt


10. Gilgel Gibe I Omo River 2004 184 megawatt


11. Tekeze High Dam Tekeze river 2009 310 megawatt


12. Gilgel Gibe II Omo River 2009 420 megawatt
    
13. Tana Beles Belesa River 2010 435 megawatt


14. Gilgel Gibe III Omo River 2013 1870 megawatt


15. Great Millennium Dam Nile River 2017 5250 megawatt
16. Ashegoda Wind Farm Project (Enderta)2011 120 megawatt

There are three more huge hydroelectric dams on the pipe line; Tekeze II, Gilgel Gibe IV and Gilgel Gibe V.

The Ethiopian government has a plan to produce 10,000 megawatts of electric power in the next five years. Ethiopia has the potential to produce more than 45,000 megawatts of electricity from hydro power. Ethiopia is researching other sources of energy like wind and geothermal.

This data is compiled from public records available through out the international media outlets.

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