Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU), the state owned electric power distribution agency in Ethiopia, is set to launch a new utility bill collection system for its corporate clients.
The new payment system allows corporate clients to use a bank to pay their bills. The agency agreed with the state owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, to collect bills for EEU.
Sheferaw Tellila CEO of the EEU and Dereje Dufa vice president of CBE signed the agreement last Monday at the EEU headquarters.
The agency is set to sign the agreement with its corporate clients.
Currently EEU has around 27,000 corporate high voltage electricity consuming clients. That includes private, governmental and non-governmental organizations.
There are seven different types of tariffs for each usage. The lowest is 0.2 birr for each kilowatt-hour (kWh) for those that use below 50kWh a month, and the highest is 2.4 birr for each kilowatt-hour for those that use more than 500kWh a month.
The new electricity tariffs became effective on December 1, 2018, five years after that study. The rates will rise progressively toward a four-fold increase in 2022.
Consumers who use less than 50kWh a month are the only ones that will not see a rise, while the rest will be charged at a higher price based on higher rates.
The national electric utility recently adjusted the rates after 13 years of hiatus. This followed a perennial shortfall in revenues as a result of electric subsidies.
The new system is aimed at ending the time and energy the clients used to spend to pay their bills. Currently, electric and telephone bills are being collected at Lehulu payment centers in major cities across the country.
Lehulu is pioneered by Kifiya Financial Technologies, a private company established by a private-public-partnership with the former Ethiopian Ministry of Information Technology that was responsible for collecting bills through various branches.
The largest consumers of electricity, which the utility classifies as those that use more than 500KWh a month, will see their tariffs grow by more than fourfold to 2.48 Br per KW in four years.
“The Agency also has a plan to incorporate other consumers into a similar system to ease the payment channel,” Shewaferaw Tellila, CEO of EEU said.
EEU launches new bill collection channel
Over 20 tons of adulterated butter, honey seized in Jimma
In Jimma over 20 tons of butter and honey contaminated with added ingredients to lessen the cost has been seized.
Ethiopia’s Health Minister, Dr. Amir Aman made the statement during testimony to parliament.
The seizure came about as part of a joint action by professionals from the newly named Food & Drug Administration Authority (FDAA), Jimma Police and city residents.
FDAA is taking steps to stop the illegal activity by providing trainings on taking various measures to control such illegal acts by giving trainings on surveillance intelligence for professionals from federal and regional states to tackle the problem.
The tainted butter and honey was discovered at Hassen Garage and Hibret School in the vicinity of Jimma City. Three people are suspected at this time.
The 21.5 tons of adulterated honey and butter is estimated to cost over two million birr, Bekalu Arega, FDAA representative in Jimma told Capital.
Other items were found during the raid as well according to Bekalu, including Vaseline, petrol products, and sugar.
Two of the suspects have been detained. Legal proceedings have been filed at Jimma City Court.
Lowering the quality of products by mixing them with other items has become a problem lately as people cut corners to get money. For example some businesspeople have been mixing Injera or red pepper with sawdust.
FDDA has the mandate to control food and medicine and enforce standards in healthcare institutions and health care professionals and control and follow up of hygiene and sanitation.
Last week, in Arada district, the Addis Ababa City Police arrested people for mixing injera with impurities like sawdust and gypsum. Over twenty barrels of adulterated dough and seven quintals of sawdust were seized during the raid.
Alkimos Heracles docks at DMP
The giant vessel, Alkimos Heracles, has arrived at Doraleh Multipurpose Port (DMP), the biggest and most modern port in the region carrying Ethiopian cargo. Using these types of vessels creates economic scale for clients.
Wahib Daher Aden, CEO of DMP, who met Ethiopian journalists last month, said that the biggest ever commercial vessel loaded with Ethiopian cargo is coming to DMP.
According to the information Capital obtained from DMP, the vessel which is called Alkimos Heracles docked at DMP on Tuesday January 8.
“In this port we have a capacity of accommodating a big vessel with dry bulk, for instance a vessel with 80,000 metric tons of dry cargo is arriving at the port for the first time and this reduces costs,” the CEO explained. 
“The arrival of these huge vessels with a big carrying capacity means from five to USD 7 less per ton for the clients. The port with its naturally high depth is considered to be one of the best in the port industry,” he added.
Big vessels are the game changers in terms of significant reduction of costs and will accelerate the land fleet with the line that will be connected in the coming months, according to the DMP top official.
In its statement that the port sent to Capital, DMP’s port said they have welcomed the first 229-meter long-rigged bulk carrier with 100,000 in deadweight, commonly stated as DWT, capacity and 80,000 MT of grain for the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture.
After docking on Tuesday DMP Wahib Daher and the Commercial Director Habon Abdourahman Aden warmly welcomed the crew of the Alkimos Heracles and offered a commemorative plaque to the Captain of the ship.
“This flagship of our port infrastructure has confirmed its capacity for reception and performance compared to the ports of the region and is positioned as a multimodal platform at the regional and international level,” the CEO said at the welcoming ceremony.
Wahib Daher emphasized the importance of large carriers to importers, because they significantly reduce the cost of shipping.
Also according to the DMP director of operations Bahar Mahamoud Hassan, this ship will be unloaded after 12 to 13 days, at a speed of 1,200 tons per hour.
Sources in Addis Ababa told Capital that the cargo is wheat purchased by the Ministry of Agriculture for the food security program.
Despite the vessel’s capacity to handle 80,000 metric tons, the exact volume that Alkimos Heracles loaded for the client is 77,004.567 metric tons.
The cargo is supplied by the well know Hakan Agro DMCC, a Dubai based company, which is new to such kind of supply for the Ethiopian market.
Sources said that 20,000 tons were dispersed at Dire Dawa and Kombolcha, while the balance 37,004.567 tones will be transported to Adama.
Experts added that it is the first time that Ethiopia has used this type of large vessel, which has a better economic of scale for the logistics sector.
