Ethiopia's $1.3 billion 500kV interconnector will be commissioned in November 2022, and Kenya Power has agreed to import hydropower from Ethiopia via an electric highway.

The Kenya-Ethiopia Electric Road project, planned since 2011, will require the completion of a 1,068km transmission line capable of carrying up to 2GW of electricity, as well as converter stations to convert DC voltage to AC and vice versa. These will be built in Wolayta, Ethiopia and Suswa, Kenya.

In the first phase of the agreement, Ethiopia will export 200MW of electricity to Kenya; this will be doubled in the second phase. Kenya's power grid is underdeveloped. About 68% of its energy comes from wood and other biomass, and it is estimated that 29% of its population will not have access to its 3GW of installed capacity by 2020.

In Ethiopia, electricity accounts for 3% of total energy supply, although installed capacity more than quadrupled between 2005 and 2019. Some projects, notably the 5GW Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, will significantly increase supply.

Electricity generation in Ethiopia is cheaper than in Kenya, and the power highway is expected to lower general electricity prices in Kenya and boost industrial growth. At the same time, exports will increase Ethiopia's access to foreign exchange, a high economic priority for Addis Ababa.

Funded by the World Bank and the African Development Bank, the electric road will also contribute to poverty reduction efforts in 11 electricity pooled countries in East Africa. The aim is to integrate the grids of Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, as well as Ethiopia and Kenya.Editor/XingWentao