Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) will construct the Narok–Bomet electricity line, which will link areas of the South Rift and South Nyanza, to reliable as well as affordable power supplied at the Olkaria geothermal fields.
According to Ketraco, the link is aimed at minimizing power outages in the area.
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The firm blamed the power outages on less power generation capacity of plants in the western Kenya region, notably Sondu and Turkwell. The plants are boosted by imports from Uganda.
Power transmission losses that take place when electricity is transmitted over huge distances are other causes of the outages.
Power is transmitted over the Olkaria-Lessos line, serving Bomet and the nearby communities.
With plans to build the Narok–Bomet line, Kenya Power carried out studies in 2018. Ketraco has since taken over this task.
The 81-kilometer, 132-kilovolt line will be constructed for Sh2.1 billion, according to Ketraco.
The funding for the Narok–Bomet line
The African Development Bank and also the Korea Exim Bank will provide the funds for the project.
The construction of a line linking the Olkaria geothermal generation plants to the South Rift as well as the western region transmission systems is the proposed project’s way of improving voltage profiles, according to Ketraco in an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) presented to the National Environment Management Authority for approval.
Providing a different route for the evacuation of power from the Olkaria geothermal plants, will greatly improve the quality. It will also improve the reliability of the supply to the above mentioned regions of the country.
The project is justified since it will improve the security of the transmission lines. It will also stabilize the power supply, protecting against losses brought on by blackouts and power outages.
In 2018, Kenya Power carried out a resettlement action plan, an ESIA, as well as feasibility studies.
Before starting construction, Ketraco stated that it was evaluating the studies and would update the previous work done by Kenya Power.
