New High Voltage Power Project Set to Lower Electricity Costs in Kenya

The Western parts of Kenya, will, for the first time receive geothermal electricity once the 220kV/ 400kV Olkaria-Lessos-Kisumu line is completed.

The 300km high voltage line project is expected to save the country 2 billion shillings worth of electricity per year lost through leakages during transportation once it is completed.

The construction is set for completion early 2020 and it will link counties in western parts of the country to the geothermal power plants in Olkaria, Naivasha.

“The line, once complete, will save at least Sh2 billion that is lost via technical losses in the current 132kV lines that are overstretched at the moment. Further savings will come from the shutdown of the current thermal generator at Muhoroni,” Fernandes Barasa, the Managing Director at Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) said.

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Power lines with low voltage often lose electricity in high capacities. The heavy electricity losses are the difference between the units of electricity that retailer Kenya Power buys from producers and the actual units sold to homes and businesses.

Since these losses are factored in tariff setting, consumers are affected, which is why a more efficient transmission line will save them in terms of power bills.

Counties in western Kenya have been relying on Sondu Miriu and Turkwel hydropower stations whose supply is insufficient and unreliable as they are weather dependent.

Some also rely on the expensive backup electricity from gas turbine station fueled by kerosene at Muhoroni in Kisumu. The other alternative has been costly imports from neighboring Uganda.

While the counties suffer electricity shortage, the Olkaria geothermal station in the Rift has surplus electricity, some of which is sitting idle due to lack of enough transmission lines.

“The project will, therefore, offer an evacuation route for the geothermal power from Olkaria to West Kenya and also provide voltage support to the region,” Barasa noted.

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Efficient power transmission to the western counties will rejuvenate and ignite production activities ensuring uninterrupted operations for factories, businesses, and households.

Most importantly, the new power line is aimed at making sure that households across the country enjoy low electricity bills considering how power tariffs on the national grid are harmonized regardless of location and energy source.

The 300km Olkaria-Lessos-Kisumu line runs from Naivasha steam fields through Eldoret to the lakeside city of Kisumu.

The project is worth 18.2 billion shillings is financed by Japan through JICA. The contracted firms are Kalpataru, NARI Group, and Sieyuan.

The project is divided into three phases. The first one encompasses the construction of a 400 kilovolt (kV) line from Olkaria to Lessos (213km) with a capacity to carry up to 1,200 megawatts (MW) of electricity.

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The second lot, which carries 400 MW of power runs from Lessos to Kisumu, a distance of 77km whereas the third phase will involve the construction of substation extensions at Olkaria, Lessos, and Kisumu (Mamboleo), with a new switchyard at Kibos.

The switchyard will be fundamental in providing feeders and offering Kisumu County with alternative supply, creating redundancy, hence fewer downtimes.

In 2017, the Coastal region equally started receiving geothermal power following the completion of the Mombasa-Nairobi line that is connected to Olkaria steam fields. Before that, coastal towns fully relied on expensive electricity from diesel generators stationed at the coast.

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KETRACO is the agency behind construction and operation of high voltage transmission lines (132kV and above), with those below falling in Kenya Power’s domain.