The Ethiopian Electric Utility recorded significant financial losses during the first four months of 2018 due to vandalism, theft, and deliberate damage. Transformer vandalism caused over 23 million Br in damages, while overhead and underground cables added nearly 89 million Br, resulting in 36.45 gigawatt-hours of lost electricity, valued at around 13.18 million Br. Public infrastructure, including roads and service vehicles, suffered an additional 18 million Br in damages, bringing total losses to an estimated 143.3 million Br. Authorities have opened ten criminal investigations into the incidents. Vandalism and theft of energy assets carry penalties of five to 20 years’ imprisonment and fines of up to 50,000 Br, depending on the offence. To improve monitoring, the Ethiopian Electric Utility has set up a toll-free call centre and SMS service at 908, encouraging citizens to report any observed incidents to safeguard national assets.

[ssba-buttons]