Ethiopia has started rationing electricity for industrial and domestic consumers after a drop in water levels in hydroelectric dams, which caused electricity production deficit. It is coming close on the heels of Zimbabwe and South Africa resorting to power cuts due to outages. Load shedding has become a routine affair in these countries. Drop in water levels at Ethiopia’s Gibe 3 dam has led to a deficit of 476 megawatts, which is more than a third of the country’s electricity generation of 1,400 MW. Ethiopia has also topped electricity exports to neighboring Djibouti and Sudan, which earns the country US$82 million a year. The load shedding will continue till July. There will be rampant power shedding for the domestic sector. The cement and steel firms will have to operate fewer shifts due to power cuts.
