Construction of the Kenya-Ethiopia interconnector line is set to be completed by June this year. Kenya’s Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter, made the announcement and said the project is nearly complete.
“The new connection will be ready for commissioning at the end of the next three months. We view this as a critical installation, with which we will venture into the power trade businesses and as a result assist in the development of the country,” said CS Keter.
The Kenya-Ethiopia interconnector line is 1,045 kilometers long. It interconnects at the Moyale common border and has the capacity to accommodate or other transport 2,000 MW of electricity in either direction. The project implementation is complete on Ethiopia’s side, which is the shortest, while on Kenya’s side it is over 90% complete.
Scope of work
The project is being implemented by Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) and funded by African Development Bank (AfDB) in conjunction with the French Development Bank (AFD), the World Bank, and the national government of Kenya have collaboratively funded the project at a tune of Sh 67billion.
This energy project is Kenya’s second cross-border grid link after Uganda which connects through the Olkaria-Lesos 132 Kilovolts (kV) line, while the Kenya-Ethiopia interconnector line is Kenya’s first direct current (DC) line having 500kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) considering that all the other transmission and distribution lines in the East African country are alternating current (AC) wires.
Once operational, the Kenya-Ethiopia interconnector line will enable cross-border trade of reliable and affordable energy from the East African region and eventually to the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP), through Tanzania. It is expected to integrate power systems of five countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda under the Eastern African Power Pool (EAPP) Master Plan that seeks to take advantage of excess capacity within the network and facilitate the trade of electricity between member countries.
