February 25, 2017 - Following generator upgrades, the installed hydropower generation capacity of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has been increased to 6,450MW, according to FBC.
Initially, the dam was designed to generate 5,250MW. However, due to the upgrades made to the power plant, its generation capacity was raised to 6,000 MW. Six years later, the total installed generation capacity of the dam has been increased by additional 450MW as a result of the improvement made on generators to boost the capacity of the power plant.
Following the upgrading made twice, the electricity generation capacity of the dam has been increased by a total of 1,200 MW, which is equivalent to the power generated from Tekeze, Beles and Gibe-II hydropower plants combined.
Ethiopia is preparing to celebrate the 6th anniversary of the commencement of the construction of the dam with various fund raising programs.
In a press conference in connection with the anniversary, Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Dr Debretsion Gebremichael, announced that 56 percent of the dam project is completed.
According to the Minister, works are also nearing completion to enable the dam to generate 750MW. “Construction of power receiver and transmission stations as well as installation of power transmission lines have been fully completed. The only thing left is fixing the two turbines that generate 375MW each,” he said.
The next step is enabling the dam to hold water, he said, indicating the final preparation being made by the government to facilitate ways in which the filling of the dam’s reservoir will take place. (FBC)