Ethiopia has officially begun exporting electric power to Kenya, the state-owned power producer Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) announced.
The announcement comes on Thursday two weeks after EEP successfully activated the Ethiopia- Kenya high-voltage transmission line and converter station for transmission for test transmission on November 4, 2022.
After a two-week long trial, the EEP said Ethiopia has today started exporting power to Kenya through the 500kV power line.
Ethiopian Electric Power signed a Power Purchase Agreement with Kenya Power and Lighting Company Plc in July 2022.
The beginning of power export to Kenya increases the number of neighboring countries buying electric power from Ethiopia to three.
Ethiopia currently supplies power to Djibouti and Sudan.
The two countries imported 1,700 GWh of electric imported 1,700 GWH of electricity worth $95.45 million during the previous 2021/22 fiscal year.
EEP says the Ethiopia-Kenya Transmission Interconnection Line could generate up to 100 million USD in revenue per annum.
The high-voltage power line has the capacity to transmit up to 2,000 megawatts of electricity to countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and other Southern African nations.
Authorities put the total cost of the Ethiopia-Kenya Transmission Interconnection Line and converter station project construction, including the fee paid in compensation for properties in areas where it passes through, at $500 million.
Of the total cost, $214.5 million was spent on the construction of the converter station and ground electrode line, whereas $120 million was spent on the transmission line.
MG/as/APA