Ethiopia saw a boost to its hydropower generation capacity with its largest hydroelectric project to date coming online. The country saw the third plant in the Gibe-Omo hydroelectric cascade, the 1.87-GW Gibe III, brought online.
The Gibe III follows the successful completion of the 184-MW Gilgel Gibe and the 420-MW Gibe II, both upstream from Ethiopia’s latest hydroelectric power plant. The Ethiopian Electric Power Corp. plans two more plants downstream from the Gibe III with the Gibe IV and Gibe V.
The country, already a power exporter, plans to bring its total power generation capacity to 37 GW by 2037 and increase its share of the power market in the region. In an effort to meet its goals and lessen the financial burden of the projects on the state, the Ethiopian government is looking to increase private sector participation to expand its grid. It is also looking to reform tariffs to allow for full cost recovery.