KETRACO Sends 20 Engineers To India For Training

Daphine briefs the MD & CEO about their training in KPLC on behalf of the other Trainee Graduates

Thomas makes a point 

Eng. Joel Kiilu wishing the Engineers a fruitful time in the hands of Power Grid  Corporation in India. He urged them to view themselves as KETRACO's and Kenya's Ambassadors while they are in India.

After six months of on- the job training, all 20 graduate trainees were bid goodbye by the MD and CEO during a lunchon ceremony attended by amongst others Head of Technical, Dr. John Mativo, Mr. Fernandes Barasa, Head of HR & Administration, Agnes Ongadi amongst other managers. The budding engineers were congratulated on successfully completing the first phase of their training at KPLC. They are now proceeding to India for ten weeks before completing their training in Kenya. The Trainees who are drawn from the electrical, civil and telecommunications disciplines also include six ladies.

The trainees will spend the 10 weeks furthering their exposure at Power Grid Corporation of India facilities. While in India, they will be exposed to the cutting-edge technologies and practices in transmission Line (T/L) design and costing, substation design and costing, network analyses and power system planning, and operational constraints of interconnection projects.

Learn more about PowerGrid HERE

Ethiopia-Kenya Environmental, Social Impact Assessment Report

 The Ethiopia – Kenya Power Interconnection Project has been in the news in the recent days with various comments about the impact on L. Turkana of the Ethiopian's damming of River Oromo. The transmission project has inadvertently been linked to the controversy though the two are as separate as north is to the south.

One of the project financiers, African Development Bank has recently released the Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Report on their website. Kindly view it here on AfDB Website .

The Ethiopia – Kenya Power Interconnection Project will usher in the regional energy trade which
has for a long time been envisaged with the formation of the Eastern African Power Pool (EAPP) by
Heads of State and Government at the 11th Summit of COMESA in Djibouti in November, 2006 as a
specialized institution of COMESA for electrical power for Eastern Africa. The overall objective of
the EAPP is to facilitate regional integration and hence to realize sustainable growth and
development. Other objectives include optimization of the usage of energy resources available in the
COMESA region, increase in the power supply for the region, reduction in electricity production cost
and creation of a conducive environment for investment. Trade in electrical energy between Ethiopia
and Kenya will enhance trade between the two countries, stimulate other related trades and
technologies and raise the level of socio-economic integration of citizens of the two countries
especially those across the common border who have in the past relied mainly on a nomadic herding
way of life and interaction. This type of interaction has in recent years seen bloody clashes in
competition for grazing and water resources. With diversification into modern technology in trade
and other socio-economic integration among the border communities, better harmony and improved
security will be realized at the border region

Courtesy of AfDB

Zambia discussing with Tanzania, Kenya on construction of power line

"CURRENTLY THERE IS HUGE PRICE DISPARITY IN ELECTRICITY
BETWEEN SOUTHERN AFRICA AND EASTERN AFRCA - WHICH IS
AN INCENTIVE FOR ZAMBIA TO INCREASE POWER TRADE"

LUSAKA (Xinhua) -- The government of Zambia has started discussions with the governments of Kenya and Tanzania to construct a transmission line to boost regional electricity supply, the Zambia Daily Mail reported on Thursday.

The Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya interconnector project will result in the region enjoying increased power supply and trade, Daily Mail said.

Ernest Mupwaya, the head of the state power utility Zesco Limited, said electricity is expensive in East Africa compared to the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP) region.

"There is a huge price disparity in electricity between Southern Africa and the Eastern which is an incentive for Zambia ... to increase power trade," he was quoted as saying by the paper.

"With the interconnection line in place, Zambia will be in a position to sell or export power and earn money", he added.

He, however, said Zambia and the East African nations have not yet agreed on the tariffs and that the matter is being addressed at inter-governmental level.

The interconnectivity power line will run from Kasama in northern Zambia to Nairobi in Kenya.

The power utility will next month start constructing a 330 kilovolt power line at a cost of 330 million U.S. dollars to boost power supply to three provinces of Northern, Eastern and Luapula provinces.

Courtesy of CoastWeek

The Unseen Highways Powering Vision 2030

There is a lot of excitement about the Thika Super Highway that is nearing completion and changing forever our perceptions about roads engineering. Of course Kenyans being the wishful lot we are cannot help falsely imagine that the new super wide and smooth will also improve our horrible driving skills.

While the Superhighway was being created by the Kenyan visionaries, African Development Bank finances, Indian designers and Chinese Contractors, many other highways have also been coming up away from the public's eye. Which ones are these and where are they?

I am talking about the national electricity grid. In December, 2008, the government started a new parastatal called Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Ltd. (KETRACO), see website here . The company which is 100%  owned by the Ministries of Finance and Energy was set up along with Geothermal Development Company (GDC) to fast track the expansion of the transmission network and exploration of geothermal power sources, respectively.

KETRACO was established to develop new high voltage electricity transmission infrastructure that will form the backbone of the National Transmission Grid, in line with Kenya Vision 2030.

Its core business is to plan, design, build and maintain new electricity transmission lines and associated substations. These new lines will include 132kV, 220kV, 400kV and 500kV High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC).

The Company will construct over 4,000 km. of high voltage transmission infrastructure comprising of lines, switch gears and sub-stations across the country in the next 3-4 years. This will open up geographical areas without access to the national grid, enhance capacity for evacuating power from planned generating plants and build inter-connectors to facilitate regional power trade with neighboring countries.

Already new transmission lines have been installed in Kamburu-Meru, Chemosit-Kisii, Rabai-Galu and currently two major projects are underway in Mombasa-Nairobi and Rabai-Lamu transmission lines. 

So the next time you are admiring Thika Super Highway and how it will improve your life, remember that there are a few more highways that are out of sight, but will also impact your lives positively by ensuring you get cheap power, reliable power and also opening up parts of our nation that have never known what electricity is.