Govt seeks alternative financier to rehabilitate aging transmission lines » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 24 — The government is exploring alternative methods of financing the country’s dilapidated power grid following the cancellation of the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) deal with Indian-based conglomerate Adani Solutions.

KETRACO Managing Director John Mativo on Saturday asserted that the cancellation of the Adani deal will slow the process of rehabilitating the country’s aging power lines.

Mativo said KETRACO’s plan was to have Kenya’s grid rehabilitated by 2027, a goal that now hangs in the balance.

“The quickest financier to come on board is financing from the people of Kenya. These are insurance companies, pension schemes, and SACCOs through the formation of a joint venture,” he said.

“These are critical projects that are really required by the grid, as per our studies and the transmission master plan.”

President William Ruto, on Thursday, directed the cancellation of infrastructure and energy deals with Adani following criminal charges in the U.S.

In his State of the Nation address in Parliament, Ruto said the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for the expansion of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO) are now canceled due to the latest information.

Adani was indicted by the US Department of Justice, alongside his nephew Sagar Adani, for orchestrating a bribery scheme involving more than $250 million in payments to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts.

The Sh96 billion deal between the Energy Ministry and Adani Energy Solutions Limited was signed on October 12, 2024, despite facing scrutiny, with Kenyans expressing concerns over the company’s previous operations in other countries.

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