The electricity grids of Egypt and Sudan were officially connected on Friday with an initial capacity of 60 megawatts, Sudan’s Ministry of Energy and Mining said.
The extension of the grid to Sudan’s northern areas was completed with testing on Friday morning, it added, noting that it is part of efforts to “expand power supply.”
The grid was completed in April 2019 with about 100 km (62 miles) running in Egypt and 70 km (44 miles) in Sudan, the Egyptian cabinet said in a statement on Saturday.
The first phase of connectivity aims to provide Sudan with a capacity of up to 70 megawatts around the clock.
“This would rise to 300 megawatts in the second phase after some Sudanese power stations are upgraded,” it added.
Both countries are currently studying the expansion of the project to reach 3,000 megawatts.
Egypt’s estimated investment cost for the electrical interconnection project is about 56 million dollars.
Egypt has rapidly expanded its power generation in recent years and has been looking to export surplus electricity to neighboring countries.
Sudan’s National Electricity Corporation (NEC) said the shortage in electrical supply amounts to 60 percent.
The residential sector accounts for 80 percent of the available electricity supplies, while 20 percent is given to industrial and commercial sectors, it explained.
Sudan has been suffering from a lack of electrical supply due to the scarcity of fuel in the thermal power stations and debts accumulated for private electric power generation companies.
The NEC has also been carrying out maintenance on Um-Dabakir and Khartoum North thermal power stations, as part of its efforts to meet people’s needs during the summer and holy month of Ramadan that begins in late April.
