Kenya doubles electricity imports from neighboring countries amid increased demand

Kenya has more than doubled its power imports from neighboring countries amid increased demand, the national bureau said in a new economic report released Friday.

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said the country imported 706.9 million kWh of electricity from Ethiopia and Uganda in the first 11 months of 2023, up from 288.27 million kWh in a similar period in 2022.

The bulk of the power imports -- 546.5 million kWh -- were sourced from Ethiopia during the period, according to KNBS, with the country emerging as Kenya's biggest supplier of electricity in the region.

Ethiopia has supplanted Uganda from the position, which for years was Kenya's top source of power imports.

Kenya Energy Transmission Company (KETRACO), which builds power transmission lines in the country, recently completed construction of the 500kV Ethiopia-Kenya interconnector line, which has enabled Kenya to import cheaper hydropower, according to the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).

The line will facilitate regional power trade in eastern Africa.

Power imports from Ethiopia are expected to rise by 200 MW over the next three years, increasing the import capacity from the country to 400 MW, according to EPRA.

Kenya's installed power generation stands at about 3,078 MW while the total effective interconnected capacity is about 2,925 MW. The system peak demand averages 2,057 MW while the average available capacity is 2,035MW, necessitating the imports, according to EPRA.