Speaking to media professionals today, Dr. Gebeyehu Likasa, Chief Executive Officer for Electrical Infrastructure at the utility, stated that the organization is not only identifying the causes of power outages through detailed studies but is also investing heavily in replacing aging power lines, increasing system capacity, and constructing new infrastructure through both the national grid and solar energy alternatives.

According to the executive, power interruptions occur through two main mechanisms. The first is planned outages conducted for maintenance work, installation of new transformers, and relocation of power lines. The second involves unplanned outages caused by aging infrastructure or accidents, such as the collapse of utility poles, broken power lines, and damaged insulators.

As part of preventive measures undertaken so far, inspections have been conducted on 1,750 kilometers of medium-voltage lines in Addis Ababa and 62,274 kilometers nationwide. Inspections of 67,131 transformers enabled corrective actions to be taken on 92 percent of identified distribution network problems and 86 percent of transformer-related issues. These efforts included clearing trees encroaching on power lines and replacing leaning or deteriorated wooden poles and damaged insulators.

Regarding infrastructure expansion and capacity enhancement, the work is being implemented through two approaches. The first consists of projects financed internally and executed by local contractors. Over the past nine months, 3,099 kilometers of medium- and low-voltage lines have been rehabilitated, while capacity upgrades have been completed on 1,579 existing transformers. In addition, more than 53 feeder lines have been balanced to reduce overload-related outages, over 167 switching and control devices have been installed to improve emergency response, and damaged underground cables in Addis Ababa have been repaired.

The second approach involves large-scale projects financed through loans from international financial institutions and implemented by international contractors. Under this program, projects previously launched in six cities—Harar, Wolaita, Shashemene, Debre Markos, Gondar, and Kombolcha—have been fully completed and are now operational. Reconstruction projects for the distribution networks of ten additional cities are currently under construction.

However, the utility noted several major challenges. Much of the distribution network has been in service for a long time and requires extensive rehabilitation, which demands substantial financial resources and time. Furthermore, the large-scale projects currently underway have increased the frequency of planned outages, while theft and vandalism of electrical infrastructure continue to pose serious problems.

The Ethiopian Electric Utility stated that it is working intensively to ensure that the public receives a relatively improved electricity supply during the upcoming rainy season. To achieve this, it aims to complete the ongoing project activities and planned outages associated with these projects by June 30, 2026 (Sene 30, 2018 E.C.). The utility also explained that power interruptions have increased to some extent since March due to efforts to complete Phase IV of the Addis Ababa network rehabilitation project on schedule