Staff Writer
(Nairobi, Kenya) — Residents across the West Gojjam Zone in the Amhara Region are experiencing severe disruptions to daily economic and household activities due to persistent power blackouts, local sources reported.
Community members interviewed by Sheger FM 102.1 stated that the administrative zone—home to a population exceeding 1.3 million—currently receives electricity just once a week. Expressing deep frustration, residents reported spending six out of every seven days in near-total darkness, severely hampering public services, business operations, and domestic life.
In response to the escalating crisis, community representatives traveled in person to submit formal petitions to both the Amhara Regional Coordination Office and the Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU).
A primary demand outlined in the grievance petitions is the immediate replacement of a damaged transformer required to ensure the proper and full operational capacity of the Finote Selam power substation, which serves as a central distribution hub for the area.
Addressing inquiries regarding the prolonged outages, officials at the EEU’s Amhara Regional Coordination Office conceded that the community’s complaints are valid.
The utility confirmed that high-level technical assessments have acknowledged the systemic supply bottlenecks in West Gojjam. Regional authorities stated that they have formulated and are actively executing both immediate short-term maintenance measures and long-term infrastructure upgrade plans to restore reliable power grid access to the region.
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