The Utility Decides to Install Energy Meters with No Payment for New Residential Customers

Households living near newly built solar power plants, including the Hodi Boku project, can now get energy meters installed free of charge, part of EEU's push to expand electricity access in remote, off-grid communities.

The Ethiopian Electric Utility is undertaking extensive activities to provide rural areas far from the main electricity grid with solar energy.

And recently the utility decides to install electric energy meters with no payment for residents live in rural areas accessing solar power plants.

This was revealed during the inauguration of the Hodi Boku solar power plant project in Hodi Boku town, Hoko wereda, Eastern Zone of Sidama Region today.

This solar power generation project was built with World Bank 227.2 million birr loan support.

The solar power plant will provide electricity access to 2,000 households. Currently, 487 households have benefited from the free meter opportunity.

The project also included the installation of 1.2 km of medium-voltage lines, 10.5 km of low-voltage lines, and three transformers with different capacities.

The utility announces that households live around solar power plants can get electric energy meter without any payment.

This strategic move aims to alleviate the financial burden on low-income households live in remote areas.

The Utility created this favorable environment to enable every segment of society to benefit from clean energy and transition to a better, modern life, without limiting economic capacity.

Accordingly, it has been announced that residents in areas of the country where solar power has been built can take advantage of this free opportunity starting today.

Over the past years, efforts have been made to bring solar power to rural towns far from the main electricity grid, and 43 solar power plants, including the Hodi Boku power plant, have been built across the country. With these power plants more than 10,000 households can get access to electricity.

In addition, it is worth noting that the Utility has officially launched a flexible payment scheme allowing new domestic customers (main grid) to settle service connection fees over a period of up to two years.