Addis ababa: Ethiopia will continue advancing regional power connectivity in line with the Eastern Africa Power Pool's (EAPP) vision of building an integrated regional electricity market, Water and Energy Minister Habtamu Itefa said. EAPP's 37th Steering Committee meeting and 22nd Council of Ministers extraordinary session, which brought together senior officials to review key constitutional, legal, and regional power-market issues, is taking place in Addis Ababa.
According to Ethiopian News Agency, during the opening of the session, Minister Habtamu Itefa recalled that EAPP was established on the principle that regional cooperation strengthens when sovereign states voluntarily agree on common rules. Those rules are reflected in the EAPP Intergovernmental Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2005. The Minister noted that significant efforts have been made to operationalize the regional electricity market and continue institutional development of the organization.
As Eastern Africa Power Pool's current chair, Ethiopia is advancing efforts and will work closely with all EAPP member states to pursue the shared goal of an integrated market grounded in constitutional governance, institutional integrity, regional solidarity, and the rule of law, Water and Energy Minister Habtamu said. Emphasizing the need for collective commitment to constitutional governance, institutional integrity, regional solidarity, and the rule of law, he encouraged members to seize the opportunity to strengthen both the organization and regional electricity market for the benefit of all.
Water and Energy State Minister Sultan Welle informed the media that Ethiopia has been fulfilling its regional connectivity commitments by supplying electricity to Djibouti, Kenya, Tanzania, and Sudan. He added that Ethiopia intends to expand its interconnection role under the East Africa Power Pool framework. The power pool initiative will serve as an enabling platform to facilitate power transmission and ensure reliable electricity supply across the region. Improved access to electricity can help drive social and economic benefits for local communities.
The meeting is focused on discussing agreements among member countries to collaborate jointly and the terms governing electricity services, with decisions expected to be reached, he stated. The Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) comprises member countries such as Burundi, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Libya, with South Sudan and Somalia joining recently.