On 17 May 2019 Xinhua reported that Ethiopia’s Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy said falling reservoir levels at Melka Wakena, Gibe III, and Koka had created about a 426 megawatt electricity deficit.
Officials said a nationwide rationing plan would run about two months from May, while trying to shield universities, export firms, health facilities, and some public services. The same hydropower dependence that powers industrial parks also ties factories and homes to rainfall.
Ethiopia was still advertising a jump toward much higher generation capacity through hydro, wind, geothermal, and solar, including the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Short-term blackouts showed how thin those promises felt when reservoirs dropped.
Kept as energy and climate archive, the water-shortage note explains why rationing hit in May 2019 and why Red Sea neighbors depending on Ethiopian power exports also felt the squeeze.
Sources: Xinhua