EEPCo to Pay Compensation for Hawassa Power Surges
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The Hawassa branch of the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) is to pay compensation to close to 300 households and a private company, Awassa Greenwood Plc, for damages related to sudden power surges, two weeks ago.
Awassa Greenwood Plc, a flower grower and exporter located on the outskirts of Hawassa town, 273Km south of Addis Abeba, has stopped work because of damages to its offices and facilities that resulted in a fire following the surge.
“We have checked the damages and confirmed that the charges were filed within 24 hours of the damages,” said Zeleke Kebede, Public Communication Desk head of EEPCo’s branch office. “We only pay compensation to residents with title deeds.”
“The fire spread at Greenwood because they use metal sheets for fences,” he added.
Residents of rented houses in the town are also demanding compensation; however, there are fears that they may be excluded because they do not have any title deeds for the places they reside in.
“We should be compensated since our property has been damaged and we should have the same rights as the others,” said a resident who rents his home. He asked that his name be withheld.
These tenants submitted their applications to the branch office on April 27, 2013.
Zeleke declined to give an estimate of the compensation to be paid.
“We are working on the case with the Branch. The damage caused by the surge was significant and we are analysing whether it happened as a result of an EEPCo mistake or because the customers used low capacity conductors,” said Misikir Negash, Corporate Communication head of EEPCo.
The Corporation might negotiate with Greenwood, where the damages are extensive, according to Zeleke.
“It is bad,” said Tadesse Belay, owner and general manager of Greenwood, who declined to comment further.
Power comes and goes frequently, and when it returns after a blackout it surges, said the anonymous resident in the city, who claims to have lost a TV set and DVD player as well as a refrigerator.
“There are always power surges in Hawassa, damaging bulbs usually,” he said, “But that day it was powerful enough to even to set fires to some houses.”
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