Electrical Power

The electrical power in Addis Ababa is 220 volts, 50 Hertz. Most electrical appliances in the U.S.A. use 115 volts, 60 Hertz power and and will burn up if they are plugged into the electical power sockets here in Addis Ababa. The exceptions are the electrical appliances that are multi-voltage. Laptop computers normally have multi-voltage power supplies so they can be safely used in Addis Ababa. To find out if an appliance or power supply is multi-voltage, look at the ID sticker on the back of the appliance. It would give an input voltage range, such as 100 – 240 V. If it only says 115 V, then it cannot be used in Addis Ababa unless a transformer is used to drop the Addis Ababa voltage from 220 volts to 115 volts first.

Laptop Multi-Voltage Power Supply

Multi-Voltage Shaver

Another problem in using U.S.A. appliances here in Addis Ababa is the electrical power plug is different. The U.S.A. plug will not fit into a Addis Ababa electrical power socket. The electrical power plugs in Addis Ababa have two round prongs, not the two flat prongs that U.S.A electrical power plugs have. We bought a power plug adapter here in Addis Ababa in order to plug our laptop computer into the electrical power outlet. It cost 11 BIRR ($1.15 USD). However, you can get these power plug adapters here for 7 BIRR ($0.73) if you shop around. Note: This adapter will not change the voltage. A transformer must be used to lower the voltage.