POWERGRID TO BE PART OF AFRICA’S FIRST TRANSMISSION PPP PROJECT IN KENYA

A robust transmission network spurs the competition that results into competitive electricity prices… Representative Photo by Andrey Metelev on Unsplash

Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) has signed a Joint Development Agreement with Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform to continue to develop the Kenya Transmission Project on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis.

The project entails the development, financing, construction, and operation of the 400kV Lessos – Loosuk and 220kV Kisumu – Musaga transmission lines under a PPP framework. Once completed, the project will be the first Independent Power Transmission (IPT) in Kenya and will set a reference point in Africa as the first financing of transmission lines on a PPP basis. This Project will also improve both the supply and reliability of power transmission in Western Kenya and further create a demonstration effect to help increase private sector investments into the expansion of Africa’s power transmission networks, which is critical to bridging the continent’s electricity access gap.

Signing the agreement, K. Sreekant, Chairman and Managing Director of POWERGRID, said that POWERGRID hopes that the present transmission project in Kenya shall serve as a model for undertaking more such projects in Kenya as well as other African countries. POWERGRID with its rich technical and managerial experience in undertaking transmission systems under PPP mode shall be pleased to be associated in this journey, he added.

Commenting on the development, Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50, said that it is time to focus on catalyzing private investment into the development of power transmission networks across Africa as these are a critical link to improving electricity access, especially in underserved communities.

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