The contracts for the construction of a new national electricity dispatch hub to be managed by the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) will be ready this month for approval by Attorney-General Justin Muturi, boosting hopes of favourable consumer prices.
The National System Control Centre (NSCC) is currently located on Nairobi’s Juja Road and has been run by Kenya Power until January 2022 when the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) stripped it of its role as operator.
A system operator controls the mix of electricity from different producers supplied to the national grid to primarily ensure grid stability and that consumers get the cheapest available power.
The operator also matches the demand for power from consumers with electrical energy availability, maintaining the security of the electric power system and arranging for the dispatch process.
Ketraco Managing Director John Mativo said the contracts for the construction of the NSCC and a backup control centre will be ready this month for approval.
“We are building a new modern national control centre in Embakasi. The project will cost €85 million (Sh12.26 billion). The nation control centre will help us in the sense that all these projects that we are doing have to be seen and controlled,” he said.
