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A consortium led by PowerGrid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) has decided to postpone taking over the management of Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) to end-December or early January.
This is due to a delay in recruiting local manpower.
The consortium was scheduled to take over the management this week.
This is the first time PGCIL is taking management control in projects abroad.
PGCIL and its consortium partners — National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and private sector distributor BSES — hold a two-year contract from the Ethiopian government to operate and maintain EEPCo and help the company create a modern operation system.
Under the contract, the Indian consortium will field six management heads — in generation, transmission, operations, procurement, finance and distribution.
The Ethiopian side will recruit the residual staff based on parameters identified by the consortium.
According to R.P. Sasmal, Director (Operations), PGCIL, due to a delay on the part of the Ethiopian side in recruiting manpower, the consortium has decided to postpone taking over the management by “a couple of weeks”.
The decision was also conveyed to the local government in a meeting chaired by the Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister on November 26.
An integrated power company, the state-owned EEPCo operates at low efficiency rates. Over and above the technology gaps, there is little record of electricity sales due to low penetration of metres. The accounting practices are archaic and the company doesn’t even enjoy a cheque facility with its bankers.
As part of the consortium, NHPC will strengthen EEPCo’s generation, while PGCIL will look into transmission and BSES will help stabilise distribution.
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