Power Play: Kenya Moves KSh 40.4B Transmission Partnership Towards Financial ClosePower Play: Kenya Moves KSh 40.4B Transmission Partnership Towards Financial Close
Key Highlights
- Treasury says Kenya is moving a KSh 40.4 billion ($311.53 million) transmission partnership towards financial close.
- A private consortium with Africa50 and India's Power Grid Corporation would finance, build and operate two lines for 30 years.
- Payments to the consortium would be linked to performance, but the equity split and the cost of debt were not disclosed.
Kenya is moving closer to its first large private-financed power line deal, a KSh 40.4 billion ($311.53 million) transmission partnership.
The National Treasury said Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi met Africa50 Chief Operating Officer Tshepidi Moremong on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok to advance the project towards financial close. The Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) signed the project agreement with Africa50 and India's Power Grid Corporation in December 2025.
Who builds, who pays
The 30-year concession covers two lines: the 180km Lessos–Loosuk line and the 72km Kibos–Kakamega–Musaga line. A private consortium will finance, build and operate them, with KETRACO making performance-linked payments over the life of the contract.
That structure moves the upfront cost off the Treasury's books, but it does not make the lines free. Mwenendo's reading is that the state still pays over three decades, through payments that depend on how well the lines perform. The Treasury statement did not give the equity split, the cost of the debt or the payment schedule, so the total price to taxpayers cannot yet be worked out.
Why transmission matters to business
New lines matter because generation is only useful if it can reach customers. As Mwenendo earlier reported, Kenya Power's profit rebound came from higher electricity sales, and every extra sale depends on a grid that can carry the load.
Mwenendo also reported on how Kenya's energy surge is shaped by baseload geothermal supply, which still needs transmission to reach factories and homes in the west.
Beyond one project
Mbadi and Moremong also discussed Africa50's proposed regional office in Nairobi and asset recycling, which means raising capital from existing transport infrastructure. Neither idea has a published figure or timetable.
The next signals are the financial close itself, the final lenders and the date work begins on the two routes. Until those appear, the project is a signed agreement with an unfinished financing plan.
In Summary
- What is the project?
- A KSh 40.4 billion ($311.53 million) public-private partnership for two electricity transmission lines, moving towards financial close.
- Who is involved?
- The Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO), Africa50 and India's Power Grid Corporation. Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi met Africa50's chief operating officer Tshepidi Moremong.
- Which lines are covered?
- The 180km Lessos–Loosuk line and the 72km Kibos–Kakamega–Musaga line.
- When was the agreement signed?
- The project agreement was signed in December 2025 for a 30-year concession. Financial close has not yet happened.
- How is it structured?
- A private consortium finances, builds and operates the lines, and KETRACO makes performance-linked payments.
- What is still unknown?
- The equity split, the cost of debt and the payment schedule were not disclosed, so the total cost to taxpayers cannot yet be calculated.