A 400 kV transmission line between Kenya and Tanzania has been activated by the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO). Kenya’s Isinya substation and Tanzania’s Singida substation are connected by a 510-kilometer interconnector that unifies the two countries’ electrical systems.
From Isinya to the Namanga border, 96 km of 400 kV lines were built on the Kenyan side. Tanzania, meanwhile, built the new Arusha substation and extended the distance from Namanga to Singida by 414 km.
Kenya Power and Tanzania Electricity Supply Company Limited (TANESCO) collaborated on the project. It backs the Eastern Electricity Highway project, which aims to make cross-border energy commerce easier. In March 2025, the 13-member Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) is scheduled to start official trading.
Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, Egypt, and the Southern Africa Power Pool may exchange power. Thanks to the initiative, which facilitates access to less expensive renewable energy and boosts regional economic development. Ethiopia’s Electric Power (EEP) and TANESCO have a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) that is essential to the 100 MW power trade through Kenya, with ambitions to expand to 200 MW in three years.
Kenya will benefit financially from the wheeling agreement between KETRACO and TANESCO, which will facilitate the Ethiopia-Kenya-Tanzania (EKT) power transaction. The interconnector is a $309.26 million investment, funded by the African Development Bank and the Kenyan government at a total cost of Sh4.9 billion.
