Ethiopia-Kenya electricity line set to go live
Kenya, Nairobi: Construction of a 1,045 km ‘electricity highway’ between Kenya and Ethiopia has been completed with the facility expected to go live in four months’ time.
Image for illustration purposes
Kenya, Nairobi: Construction of a 1,045 km ‘electricity highway’ between Kenya and Ethiopia has been completed with the facility expected to go live in four months’ time.
This will enable Nairobi to venture into power trade business with Addis Ababa.
Dubbed Ethiopia-Kenya Transmission Interconnection Line, the 500 kV power line is now in its final stages of joint testing ahead of commissioning in November 2022.
“The project will provide reliable and affordable energy from a regional resource base and facilitate access to considerable clean regional energy resources, reducing pollution and vulnerability to climate change,” Kenya’s Ministry of Energy said in a statement.
The Ethiopia Kenya transmission line – covering 433 km in Ethiopia and 612 km in Kenya – will enable Nairobi to import cheaper electricity from hydroelectric projects in Ethiopia while setting stage for interregional trade in energy. The electricity highway, which runs from Wolayita Sodo in Ethiopia to Suswa in Narok, will have power transportation capacity of 2,000 MW in either direction. It will be the region’s first 500 kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line.
The project was undertaken by a consortium of contractors comprising Germany-based Siemens Energy for the converter station, KEC International of India, Larsen and Toubro of India and Kalpataru Power Transmission of India. China Electric Power Equipment and Technology Company oversaw construction of the line that was 80 % backed by the World Bank and African Development Bank. The entire project estimated to have cost more than $830 M (KES 100 B).
Ethiopia, which currently exports electricity to Kenya, Djibouti and Sudan, has invested millions of dollars in building hydro-power plants as it seeks to become a major power exporter in the region. The country has the capacity to produce 60,000 MW of electricity.
Source: Construction Kenya
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