The Ethiopia-Kenya transmission interconnection line has gone live after the project managers’ conducted a successful test on the electric highway.
The Transmission Line site project head Tedros Ayalew said the transmission test on the 500 kV high-voltage ‘‘electricity highway’ has begun today.
Also read: Ethiopia to power agriculture with renewable energy
The electromechanical equipment and the communication data signal of the project have been checked and tested on various occasions, recently.
Today, Tedros said, we have managed to energize the entire electric transmission line and link up with the Kenyan side without any problem.
The successful test comes three months after state-owned power producer Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) concluded a Power Purchase Agreement with Kenya Power and Lighting Company Plc.
As per the agreement, Ethiopia will export 200 Megawatt of energy to Kenya in the first phase of the power export, with a plan to increase to 400 MW in due course.
The power export through the transmission line – covering 433 km in Ethiopia and 612 km in Kenya – is scheduled to start in November 2022.
The $830mln project electricity highway, which runs from Wolayita Sodo in Ethiopia to Suswa in Narok, will have a power transportation capacity of 2,000 MW in either direction.
Also read: Kenyan woman running million-dollar tour company in Santorini Greece
Ethiopia currently exports electricity to Djibouti and Sudan. The country is investing billions of dollars in building hydro-power plants including a 5bln hydroelectric dam project on River Abay in a bid to become a major power exporter in the region.
