The utility exceeded its revenue target by 14 percent and earned 76.62 million US dollars in foreign currency, while cumulative RCC placement at Koysha reached 82.29 percent.
Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) generated 31 billion birr in first-quarter revenue from electricity sales and related services to domestic and foreign customers, exceeding a target of 27.28 billion birr from power sales and fiber-optic leasing, the utility said.
The result represented 114 percent of the target and was 4 billion birr higher than revenue in the same quarter last year, EEP said during a review of its first-quarter performance.
Domestic customers accounted for 78.98 percent of total revenue, while foreign customers accounted for 21.02 percent.
Within domestic revenue, Ethiopian Electric Utility accounted for 48 percent, technology companies 26.7 percent, large industries 3.6 percent and Ethio-Djibouti Railway 0.38 percent, according to EEP.
EEP also earned 76.62 million US dollars in foreign currency against a target of 60.9 million US dollars, or 126 percent of plan.
The Koysha hydropower project, Ethiopia’s second-largest dam, is designed to have an installed capacity of 2,200 megawatts and an estimated total cost of 3 billion euros. It has been under construction since 2016 on the Omo River in the South West Ethiopia Peoples’ Region.
The project is about three years behind its original schedule, according to officials, who cite Ethiopia’s debt restructuring and foreign-currency shortages. EEP has said it still needs about 500 million euros to complete the dam and is negotiating a 400 million euro loan from Italian banks, with the remaining 100 million euros expected from internal revenue.
Dam completion is now targeted for 2027, with early power generation in 2028 and full operations in 2029. Once fully operational, Koysha is expected to generate up to 6,460 gigawatt-hours annually.
The first-quarter update comes after EEP reported total revenue of 124.2 billion birr and a net profit of 39.5 billion birr in its most recent full fiscal year. Officials said the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) supplied 52 percent of the country’s electricity.
In its construction update, EEP said the Koysha project had reached 78.36 percent completion.
During the quarter, 250,000 cubic metres of roller-compacted concrete (RCC) was placed against a target of 255,000 cubic metres. Cumulative RCC placement reached 82.29 percent of the project’s planned 6.4 million cubic metres.
The dam’s left wing has reached 145 metres, while other sections average 138 metres, against a final height of 201.5 metres.
Structural concrete placement reached 1,870 cubic metres at the powerhouse and 17,340 cubic metres at the spillway during the quarter.
EEP said procurement, transport, assembly and installation of electromechanical equipment for six turbines are proceeding on schedule. Procurement, manufacturing, transport, assembly and installation of water drainage and conveyance pipes are also being carried out as planned, it said.
