The construction of the planned Sh12.26 billion national electricity dispatch centre will start mid-next month as the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) moves to restore reliable supply on the national grid.
John Mativo, the Managing Director of Ketraco said that the ground-breaking for the National System Control Centre (NSCC) is expected this month. The contractors picked to build the facility, Grid Solution SAS and Larsen & Toubro of India will then start the construction by mid-May and complete it by January 2028.
“We are ground-breaking this month and the construction should start latest by mid-next month (May 2025),” Mr Mativo said.
“It (new NSCC) will not only address the limitations of the current control centre but also provide enhanced visibility, better working environment and advanced capabilities allowing the operator to simulate future grid scenarios.”
The NSCC is currently located on Nairobi’s Juja road and had been run by Kenya Power until January 2024 when the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) stripped it of the role of a system 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.
The new NSCC, to be built in Nairobi’s Embakasi, will wider plan of revamping the entire electricity supply network in a bid to ease pressure on aging infrastructure and ensure stable and reliable supply amid growing demand for power.
The Energy Act, of 2019 stripped Kenya Power of the role to eliminate conflict of interest by requiring the system operator to be a neutral player that is not involved in buying or selling electricity.
L'Agence Française de Développement and the French Ministry of Finance are financing the project, which will also see Ketraco build a backup station in Suswa.
Kenya last year completed the construction of a 400-kilovolt (kV) interconnector to Tanzania, making it third after similar ones to Ethiopia and Uganda. The one to Ethiopia has a capacity of 500 kV while the one to Uganda has a capacity of 400 kV.
The high-voltage interconnectors are meant to mainly import power mainly from Ethiopia and Uganda and at times allow Kenya to export electricity to Tanzania, underscoring the need for a more robust and modern NSCC.
The interconnectors are part of the Eastern Africa Power Pool where Kenya will trade power with 11 African countries. This (electricity trade) calls for more robust national electricity transmission lines and control centres. The countries are Libya, Egypt, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Somalia, Congo DR, Djibouti, Rwanda, Sudan, and Burundi.
