The construction of the Loiyangalani-Suswa transmission power line is complete according to Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter. The 400kV line will evacuate 310MW from the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project.
CS Keter pre-commissioned the power line at Loiyangalani in Marsabit County ahead of the President’s official launch scheduled for this month.
Keter said the wind power energy from Lake Turkana and the 5MW from the Garissa solar power project will decrease power costs in the country.
“With the rise of the price of fuel you would automatically expect to see the Fuel Cost Charge going up but with the injection of power from this line which is roughly 350MW it means from the current 700MW diesel power use we will hardly be running on 200MW of diesel,” he stated.
According to Keter, the “Loiyangalani-Suswa transmission line was completed on time and has been handed over to the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited” and the wind power project will be fully operational in December this year.
Energy Principal Secretary Joseph Njoroge said the power transmission line generates up to 1,200MW. “Because of foresight, we did not construct a line for only 310 MW. One line should be able to do up to 600 MW which means the two can do 1,200 MW,” he said.
Decreased Reliance on Diesel Power
The use of renewable energy in the country has reduced the reliance on diesel power from 50 per cent to 14 per cent, Keter said. However, areas like Mandera that are not connected to the national grid will continue to use diesel power.
The power line will also improve communication in Northern Kenya because it carries a fiber optic cable for the entire stretch of 430 kilometres.
