The construction of the electricity interconnectors linking Kenya’s transmission lines to the Ethiopian and Tanzanian national electricity grids will be completed in 2022, a government official said last month.
Antony Wamukota, acting managing director of the state-owned Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) told an electricity forum in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the Kenya-Ethiopia line will be completed in October while the Kenya-Tanzania line will be finished by December.
“The purpose of the connections with neighbours is to operationalize the East Africa power pool that seeks to facilitate regional power trade,” Wamukota said during the Ketraco third annual research conference.
Wamukota revealed that the Ethiopia-Kenya interconnector comprises a high voltage transmission line that is 612 km on the Kenyan side and will be funded by a number of donors including the African Development Bank (AfDB).
“The transmission line to Ethiopia will evacuate hydropower from Ethiopia which is much cheaper electricity as compared to Kenya and will result in lower energy costs to consumers,” he added.
According to the state-owned utility, the Kenya-Tanzania connector will link Kenya’s electricity grid to the Southern Africa power pool.
He added that the Kenya-Tanzania regional interconnector will involve a high voltage transmission line that will pass the Namanga border point and is about 93 km on the Kenyan side.
“The electricity interconnections will permit trade of electricity from countries with surplus power to those with a power deficit,” Wamukota said.
