Nationwide blackout plunges most of Ethiopia into darkness

By Sadik Kedir Abdu

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - Ethiopia's power authority on Thursday said electricity was cut off in almost the entire country due to a system failure.

The state-owned Ethiopian Electric Power said on Facebook that electricity was "completely cut off" in all parts of the country, except for Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara region in the north, and surrounding areas at around 3:46 p.m. (1246GMT) local time.

It said the breakdown was due to a “fault in our system,” and efforts were being made to know the cause of the problem.

The authority urged the citizens to remain patient as they worked to rectify the issue and reconnect the national grid.

In a later post, the utility company said power was being restored in all parts of the country.