The high voltage electricity transmission lines that will facilitate trade in power in East Africa will be completed between next year and 2018, Kenya’s Energy Ministry has said.

The high voltage line connecting Kenya with Uganda is expected to be complete by the end of 2016, while the one linking Ethiopia with Kenya is scheduled to be ready in 2017. The overhead cable connecting Kenya and Tanzania will be commissioned in 2018.

Kenya’s Energy Principal Secretary Joseph Njoroge said the transmission lines will help integrate electricity markets in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.

“In another two to three years, we should be having interconnection between Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania. The project is critical to reliable electricity supply in future,” said Mr Njoroge.

READ: East Africa speeds up energy projects

The linking of national grids will pool power resources, enabling a country experiencing a deficit to tap into the surplus capacity of another and avert loadshedding (power rationing).

Poor or erratic supply of electricity from the main grid in East Africa forces many companies to rely on standby generators, which run on expensive diesel, pushing up prices of local products and provision of services.

A transmission line capable of transferring 2,400MW will be constructed from Isinya on the outskirts of Nairobi to Singida town in southern Tanzania.

The Kenya Electricity Transmission Company and the Tanzania Electricity Supply Company are implementing the project.

Mr Njoroge said the new 400 kilovolt (kV) high voltage transmission line running 510km from Isinya to Singida will be completed in 2017.

The African Development Bank, the Japan International Co-operation Agency, and the governments of Kenya and Tanzania will fund the project.

Kenya and Tanzania will spend $45 million on livelihood restoration of people affected by the project and compensation for owners of land to be acquired for construction of the transmission line.

Kenya is expanding generation of power from renewable energy sources to inject 5,000MW into the grid by 2017 to raise the current output of about 2,500MW. Tanzania plans to increase generation to 3,000MW by 2016.

Director of Renewable Energy Isaac Kiva said the acquisition of wayleaves for the Olkaria-Lessos-Tororo transmission line had commenced but compensation for landowners is yet to be finalised and construction work is expected to be completed in 2016.

“The transmission line will improve supply to western Kenya by getting energy from the Olkaria geothermal power plants and expand electricity access to those communities who are not yet grid connected,” said Mr Kiva.

In June this year, Ethiopia awarded the China Electric Power & Equipment Technology Company a contract to build a high voltage transmission line from Wolayta Sodo to the border between Ethiopia and Kenya.