Ethiopia is keeping up with plans to inaugurate the largest hydropower project in Africa, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) even as Egypt continues to oppose the project.
Speaking to reporters at a press briefing on Friday in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, the CEO of state power utility, Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), Asheber Balcha, said the Dam is set to be inaugurated even as Egypt scrambles to create obstacles.
The comment comes in response to Egypt’s Foreign Minister’s meeting with President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, seeking to discuss Egypt’s concerns over its water security and ways to boost bilateral ties.
During the course of the meeting, Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty said Egypt will take all measures to protect its water security.
“He [Minister Abdelatty] affirmed that Egypt will take all measures guaranteed under international law to protect its water security,” Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed in a statement.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) which is located on the Blue Nile River, a major tributary of the Nile is viewed by Egypt as a threat to its long-term water security.
On its part, Ethiopia has maintained that the GERD does not harm downstream countries and supports regional development.
Ethiopia’s electricity sector successes
During the press conference, EEP reported its general performance for the 2024/2025 fiscal year and outlined plans for 2025/2026.
EEP’s CEO Asheber said the utility generated 29,480 gigawatt-hours of electricity in the 2024/2025 fiscal year, exceeding its annual target of 25,423 GWh by 16%, or 4,056 GWh.
This marks a 43% increase over the 20,596 GWh generated in 2023/2024.
Asheber attributed this growth to the partial operation of GERD turbines, the commissioning of the Assela wind farm, improved spare parts availability, and effective maintenance by skilled professionals.
Overall, 97.3% of the electricity came from hydropower, with 2.7% from wind sources.
Asheber said the total revenue for the year reached $543.8 million (75.4 billion birr), with 93% of that amount coming from domestic power sales and 7% from foreign markets.
Of this, $338.7 million came from exports, and $205.7 million (28.52 billion) birr from the domestic market.
This is an improvement for the utility which reported a loss of approximately $82 million in the 2023/2024 fiscal year.
EEP’s foreign currency earnings stood at $330 million, with a target of $427 million in the coming fiscal year.
Asheber also disclosed that GERD and the Gibe III Hydroelectric Power Station were the largest contributors of electricity generated during the 2024/25 fiscal year.
The GERD generated 9,798 gigawatt-hours (33.2%), while Gibe III produced 7,148 gigawatt-hours (24.2%).
