Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) announced that it generated over $25 million in revenue during the 2023/2024 fiscal year from electricity supplied to companies involved in data mining. This substantial income is part of EEP’s strategy to increase foreign currency earnings by billing domestic customers in U.S. dollars rather than Ethiopian Birr​.

Minilik Getahun, Manager of Sales and Customer Management at EEP, highlighted that since December 2022, nine data mining companies have been making payments in U.S. dollars, a shift from the previous practice of local currency billing.

The initial target was to supply 882.48 gigawatt-hours of electricity, aiming for a revenue of $27.71 million. However, due to operational challenges, only 796.28 gigawatt-hours were supplied, which still resulted in more than 90% of the projected income​

This development is a crucial part of Ethiopia’s broader effort to attract foreign investment and leverage its hydropower resources for economic growth.

The switch to dollar billing reflects Ethiopia’s commitment to boosting foreign exchange reserves, especially as the country continues to position itself as a favorable destination for energy-intensive industries like data mining​.

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