Ethiopia Adds Over 423,000 Electricity Users in Nine Months

Mintesinot Niggusie

Ethiopian Electric Utility added 423,200 new electricity customers in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, expanding access across urban and rural areas and lifting total users to 5.64 million.

The increase represents an 18.6 percent rise compared with the same period a year earlier, reflecting a steady acceleration in customer connections as the country pushes to widen electricity access.

Part of the growth came from rural electrification, with 103 towns and villages connected to power during the period. Of these, 82 were linked to the national grid, while 21 were electrified through solar energy systems, indicating a growing reliance on off-grid solutions to reach remote communities.

More than 31,000 households in newly connected rural areas gained access to electricity, alongside health and social institutions. Rural customers accounted for 31,298 of the new connections recorded over the nine months.

In terms of billing, 74.2 percent of the new users were enrolled under post-paid systems, while 25.8 percent adopted pre-paid meters. The expansion of electricity access is seen as a key component of Ethiopia's broader infrastructure development agenda.