ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia and Kenya are pushing forward on creating a cross-border electricity project to help increase the countries' ability to deliver power to their citizens. The $348 African Development Bank loan for portions of the projects funding will help create the Eastern Electricity Highway Project to develop electricity sharing agreements in East Africa. Across the region, energy demands are expected to increase in the next 10 years, with some analysts telling Bikyamasr.com they fear that without infrastructure projects, tensions could rise as each country attempts to develop their own policies. “It is a positive step for Kenya and Ethiopia to make this agreement and push forward because by doing so they can show that by working together, prospects are better for the people,” said one Ethiopian government energy consultant. The loan by the African Development Bank hopes to enable both countries to move forward on financing the project. “With the approval of this project, we have solidified our position as the key strategic partner for East African countries in the power sector,” said AfDB regional director for East Africa Gabriel Negatu in a statement. “Our involvement in the project has included a leading role in the preparation of the project and financing some of the feasibility studies required to appraise the project and make it bankable,” Negatu added. According to a joint government statement, the $1.26 billion project is being co-financed by the respective governments as well as the AfDB, the World Bank and the French Agency for Development. “It will involve construction of a 1,068km high-voltage, direct current, 500kV transmission line between the two countries. Converter stations will be erected at Wolayta-Sodo (Ethiopia) and Suswa (Kenya), with a power transfer capacity of up to 2,000MW. It is scheduled for completion in 2017,” The Star Kenya reported. The integration of the power systems is hoped will create a “power pool” plugging into Ethiopia's massive hydropower resources, enabling Ethiopia to sell its surplus electricity to Kenya. “It has the potential to replace some fossil-fueled thermal generation in the East African region,” Negatu said. East Africa countries have experienced occasional power shortages and have been forced to switch to expensive diesel-fuelled emergency generators for thermal power. This is despite the fact that the region is endowed with untapped natural resources such as geothermal, wind, solar and hydropower. AfDB said the additional power once injected into the Kenyan grid will enable supply electricity to an additional 870,000 households by 2018, and a cumulative 1.4 million household by 2022. “Businesses and industries will also benefit, with around 3,100GWh of additional energy by 2018, increasing to around 5,100GWh by 2022.”
