Cost of electricity to come down in 2017, says Nyoike

PHOTO | FILE Electricity cost is expected to come down from 2017 when the country will get power from Ethiopia according to Energy permanent secretary Patrick Nyoike.  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By NATION CORRESPONDENT
Posted  Tuesday, May 7  2013 at  20:28

 

Electricity cost is expected to come down from 2017 when the country will get power from Ethiopia.

Speaking during the launch of the 1068km Ethiopia electricity highway in Nairobi, Energy permanent secretary Patrick Nyoike said the power would be bought at 7 cents per kilowatt.

The PS said the consumer would buy at a much lower rate than the current cost that goes up to 25 cents when fossil fuel is used to generate it.

The country has signed a power purchase agreement for 400MW with the potential of increasing this to 2,000MW.

“With loading over time in about 10 years, we expect the cost of transporting the electricity to be much cheaper. At 7 cents and another 2 cents (per kilowatt), we shall be more competitive than power provided by independent power producers,” he said.

The project, which is being implemented with $1.6 billion organised by African Development Bank, will constitute the East African power pool from which countries in the region can tap into.

Rwanda has already expressed interest in buying electricity from Ethiopia.

Kenya will build 631km and Ethiopia 437km of the high voltage electricity highway.

Among the financiers are African Development Bank $338 million, World Bank $684 million, French Development Agency $118 million with contributions from Ethiopia $32 million and Kenya providing $88 million.

“We want to create a robust power market by connecting the East Africa power pool and the southern Africa power pool. This is of strategic importance as an anchor for social, economic and political integration,” the African Development Bank regional director of East Africa Resource Centre, Mr Gabriel Negatu, said.