Posted on :Thursday , 14th March 2024

NAIROBI - Kenya has imported 200 megawatts of renewable energy from Ethiopia, according to Energy Cabinet Secretary (CS) Davis Chirchir. This information comes at a time when Kenya is trying to completely embrace sustainable energy sources.  

The 30th Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) was hosted by the CS, who claimed that the nation also exchanges energy with Uganda.

He guaranteed that the country's dependable energy supply will be strengthened by these strategic actions, lowering the likelihood of power outages.  

Kenya is one of the top nations in the world that gets 70% of its energy from renewable resources like solar, geothermal, hydro, and wind.

"Kenya has already experienced the benefits of regional integration through bilateral frameworks, as demonstrated by its energy exchange with Uganda and its 200MW import of renewable energy from Ethiopia," Chirchir stated.  

The CS continued by saying that further plans are advanced stages for the completion, commissioning, and operationalization of the Kenya-Tanzania interconnector and other lines that will guarantee energy circulation in the region, including Egypt-Libya, Egypt-Sudan, Ethiopia-Sudan, Ethiopia-Djibouti, and Uganda-Rwanda.  

"We will be looking to approve some proposed policies, plans, and budgets over the next few weeks as a follow-up to this week's meetings, which we believe will help scale up the interconnectivity of the Eastern Africa grid going forward," he said.

The CS said that these international partnerships will unite the massive power gap that exists presently in Africa.  

Approximately 600 million of Africa's 1.5 billion inhabitants lack access to power, and a larger proportion are supplied by unclean sources. In order to address Africa's changing energy situation for the good of our residents, this scenario necessitates regional partnerships, he said.