Manufacturer urges import of electricity from Uganda and Ethiopia

Author: Emmanuel J. Akile | Published: August 29, 2024

A power station in Renk County, Upper Nile State - Credit | Michael Daniel/Eye Radio | June 2022

An official from the manufacturers association is urging the government to expedite the import of electricity from Uganda, and Ethiopia, citing the high cost of power in Juba as a critical concern.

Kennedy Kenyi Lodiong, the Secretary General of the Association of South Sudan Manufacturers stated that traders are finding it difficult to expand due to a lack of enough power supply in the country.

He said the expensive electricity tariffs have also discouraged entrepreneurs from initiating businesses.

Kenyi went on to attribute to high prices of commodities in the market to high electricity tariffs.

He suggested to the government strike a deal with Ethiopia to import power from its Dam Renaissance to the upper parts of the country,

“We are importing 90% of our commodities from outside, when we are importing we need dollars, now what do we do to improve on the production that we have? The first and key issue we need to address is electricity,” said Kenyi.

“We need electricity because we need to add value to the product that we produce. For instance, maize needs to be ground to become flour, sesame needs to be pressed to become sesame oil, the same thing with peanuts,” he said.

“We can be able to export the final product out of the country and generate more foreign income. But the rate of electricity that we are paying today is the highest per kilowatt.

“These are some of the things that are deterring people from venturing into business because when you look at the operational cost, operation cost is high.

“I’m calling on the government to expedite this process [of importing power from Uganda] so that we have this electricity from the Karuma power plant into our country as soon as possible.”

In May 2024, the Ugandan government negotiated with a Chinese company a 180-million US-dollar deal to build a hydropower transmission line to Juba.

Many businesses and households in South Sudan depend on diesel-powered generators to operate, and the main electricity supplier – Juba Electricity Distribution Company (JEDCO) – hardly covers all residential areas of the capital city.

The South Sudan government is scrambling between options of importing hydroelectricity from the region and building damns in a bid to find solutions to its energy problems.

South Sudan has the world’s lowest electricity access rate – with only 7% of its 13 million population having access to electricity power, according to global data and business intelligence platform, Statista.

Previous Post
Mayardit Academy represents South Sudan at Pretoria’s Space Conference

Next Post
S. Sudan receives first Vatican Ambassador