The Ministry of Energy is hosting a consultative forum on Monday to review proposals from private companies seeking a public-private partnership (PPP) for the construction of new power lines. This initiative is part of a broader effort to tackle the country’s persistent blackouts.
Energy Principal Secretary Alex Wachira, in an interview with Citizen TV, stressed that new infrastructure is crucial to resolving these blackouts. He highlighted that the capital-intensive nature of these projects necessitates private partnerships.
“The benefit of constructing transmission lines through PPP is that the private sector can implement projects more quickly. Therefore, in the next two to three years, we should be able to significantly reduce blackouts, making nationwide outages less likely,” PS Wachira said.
The ADANI Group, which is currently in the spotlight due to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport controversy, is emerging as a major contender for this project. The Ministry of Energy believes these new power lines are essential for solving the blackout issue.
“The country faces a $5 billion shortfall in transmission lines, which contributes to frequent nationwide blackouts. With the right infrastructure, these blackouts could be avoided. We will provide more details on these proposals during Monday’s forum,” PS Wachira noted.
Kenya has faced three major nationwide blackouts this year alone, largely due to the lack of alternative power routes to redistribute electricity when one system fails.
“Our grid still needs additional transmission lines. The Gilgil-Thika-Malaa-Konza line is needed to complete the larger 400kV Nairobi ring. Another crucial line, Rongai-Keringet to Chemosit, is necessary to offload the Kisumu-Muhoroni line. We also urgently need the Menengai-Olkalou to Rumuruti line, as Rumuruti is currently experiencing significant power supply challenges,” he added.
Additionally, the government is securing a $70 million loan from the French Development Agency (AFD) to build a new national system control center, as the current center, established in 1988, is outdated.
“Had we had STATCOMs (Static Synchronous Compensators) in place, the over-voltage issues that led to recent blackouts could have been avoided. We have secured approximately $100 million in funding from the World Bank to acquire these STATCOMs. Moreover, since our grid relies heavily on intermittent power sources, we are also securing another $100 million for battery energy storage,” PS Wachira concluded.
