The electricity interconnection line between Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia will be complete by 2022, a government official has announced. Acting managing director of the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO), Antony Wamukota said that the construction of the interconnectors linking Kenya’s transmission lines to Tanzania and Ethiopia’s national electricity grids will be completed this year.
Speaking at an electricity forum in Nairobi, Wamukota reported that the Ethiopia-Kenya interconnector will be built with support from a number of donors, including the African Development Bank (AFDB), and will include a high voltage transmission line that is 612 km long on the Kenyan side.
“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 KETRACO, the Kenya-Tanzania transmission link will connect Kenya’s energy grid to the Southern Africa power pool, claims the state-owned utility.
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Wamukota said that the high voltage transmission line for the Kenya-Tanzania regional interconnector will transit the Namanga border crossing and be roughly 93 km long 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.
The official said that the Kenya-Ethiopia line will be completed by October while the Kenya-Tanzania line will be completed by December 2022.,
“The purpose of the connections with neighbors is to operationalize the East Africa power pool that seeks to facilitate regional power trade,” Wamukota said during the Ketraco third annual research conference.
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