Kenya is set to double the amount of electricity it imports from Ethiopia to 400 megawatts (MW) from December as the country looks to increase power supply during periods of high demand.
Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) said Kenya will receive an additional 200MW, raising the current imports from 200MW to as much as 400MW.
The increase will come after technical teams from Kenya and Ethiopia complete tests to ensure the two countries’ electricity systems can handle the higher supply.
“Ethiopia plans to double power exports to Kenya from 200 MW to 400 MW, with added supply expected from December,” EEP said in a notice issued on September 16.
Under the planned arrangement, Kenya will be able to receive up to 400MW from Ethiopia when demand is high. The imports will reduce to 150MW when electricity demand falls.
Kenya and Ethiopia have been trading electricity under a 25-year power purchase agreement that started in 2022.
The power is transmitted through the 1,045-kilometre Ethiopia-Kenya High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) interconnector, which links the electricity systems of the two countries.
The higher imports are expected to give Kenya more flexibility in meeting peak demand and reduce the need to rely heavily on thermal power generation during those periods.
Thermal generation is generally more expensive than some other sources of electricity, making the additional imports important as Kenya continues to deal with pressure on its power supply.
The planned increase comes about a year after President William Ruto said Kenya was considering buying more electricity from Ethiopia, including power from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
EEP said the additional supply will only begin after the joint technical committee completes grid tests and confirms that the interconnected systems can operate safely and reliably at the higher level.
The planned increase also comes as experts continue to raise concerns over the cost of electricity in Kenya. High financing costs, power purchase agreements, transmission and distribution expenses and losses on the grid have been cited as some of the factors that could keep electricity prices high as Kenya plans to expand its generation capacity from 1,500MW to 5,500MW.
The Ethiopia-Kenya arrangement is also part of growing efforts to increase cross-border electricity trade in East Africa.
Ethiopia is already carrying out a 100MW electricity supply pilot with Tanzania and is investing in transmission lines and substations to increase its ability to export power to neighbouring countries.
In June, the World Bank approved a KSh207.87 billion ($1.6 billion) 10-year regional programme to strengthen electricity interconnections and support the development of the Eastern Africa Power Pool.
The programme targets more than 5,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in annual cross-border electricity exchanges by 2031.