World Bank Ethiopia Power Plan Reported as $522M Credit Approved

On 2024-04-05, Horn Diplomat reported that the World Bank announced a program for Ethiopia's power sector under the name Power Sector Reform, Investment and Modernization in Ethiopia (PRIME). The article republished a World Bank/APO Group release dated April 3, 2024, according to Horn Diplomat. The dateline, not a separately verified approval date, is the April 3, 2024 APO Group-distributed release.

The financing reported at that time is two different numbers, and they are not interchangeable. Wendy Hughes, World Bank Regional Director for Infrastructure for Eastern and Southern Africa, is quoted saying the World Bank will partner with Ethiopia over the next 10 years with a financing envelope of up to $1.4 billion, per Horn Diplomat. Separately, for the implementation of the first phase, Horn Diplomat reports the World Bank approved a $522 million International Development Association credit, attributed to the World Bank's approval announcement.

The Horn Diplomat headline's "$1.4 Billion Initiative" therefore describes an announced envelope, not money flowing. Horn Diplomat's report does not establish that any of the $1.4 billion has been disbursed or spent, and it does not state whether the envelope is new money or partly repackaged existing World Bank commitments.

What the program is described as doing

According to Horn Diplomat's account of the release, PRIME will be implemented over several phases. The first phases will prioritize critical infrastructure investments and sector reform actions to improve the ability of electricity utilities to add new connections, while the latter phases will focus on mobilizing private sector participation in the power sector. Horn Diplomat reports PRIME will be implemented by Ethiopian Electric Utility and Ethiopia Electric Power, both fully government-owned public enterprises. No contractor, consultant or supplier is named for PRIME in the report.

The stated context is a grid that relies heavily on hydropower and is therefore vulnerable to hydrological variations, per Horn Diplomat. The Government of Ethiopia, via World Bank program material reported by Horn Diplomat, is credited with expanding grid network coverage to nearly 60% of towns and villages over the past decade. That is town-and-village grid coverage, not household electricity access. Horn Diplomat also reports that Ethiopia has the third largest energy access deficit in Sub-Saharan Africa, with about half the population without access to reliable electricity, attributed to World Bank program material.

Expected, not achieved

Ousmane Dione, World Bank Country Director for Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan and Sudan, is quoted by Horn Diplomat saying PRIME is expected to make a significant contribution towards modernizing and strengthening the Ethiopian power sector, which he describes as essential to sustain the country's fast pace of electrification. World Bank program material reported by Horn Diplomat states that the program, together with other ongoing and planned energy projects, can potentially support the entire population over the program's lifetime. Those are expectations and potential, not results.

What the report does not establish

Horn Diplomat's article, and the release it republished, do not establish what has happened since April 2024: no follow-up reporting is provided, and no evidence shows procurement, tender activity or construction start for PRIME. It does not say which substations, lines or connection targets make up the first phase's "critical infrastructure investments". The article does not state the disbursement status of the IDA credit, and the approval date of the $522 million credit is not separately given beyond the April 3, 2024 release dateline. No individual at Ethiopian Electric Utility or Ethiopia Electric Power, the implementing entities, is quoted or identified. On those points the record remains open.