NAIROBI, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's electricity utility said Tuesday it's implementing a 130 million U.S. dollars underground power network project to improve the quality of electricity supply in Nairobi.
Kenya Power CEO Ken Tarus said the underground cabling project is expected to reinforce the Nairobi City Centre bulk power supply system by providing alternative supply to existing substations.
"Initially focused on Nairobi, the underground cabling project will involve construction of a new substation and associated lines to increase the length of the existing network and offer alternative supply points to minimize interruptions," Tarus said in Nairobi.
The cabling system will create a redundant network around the city, thereby improve flexibility of the existing system.
The project involves establishment of a new 220/66kV substation at the city centre and construction of 16.5 kilometres of 220kV underground cable from Embakasi substation to the proposed City Centre substation at a cost of 106 million dollars.
The move comes as Kenya Power's customer base had been growing tremendously over the years calling for investment in the network to ensure adequate power supply.
Since June 2013 to date, the number of customers has increased from 2.3 million customers to 6 million.
Tarus said the project will also entail construction of 25.71 kilometres of 66kV transmission lines in underground cable to connect the new City Centre substation to proposed Likoni Road substation, Nairobi West, Cathedral, City Square, Muthurwa and Parklands substations.
Currently, 22 kilometres of the planned 25.71 kilometres of 66kV transmission lines is complete while installation work on the Likoni Road substation is finalized and pre-commissioning test is ongoing.
"The underground cabling technology is more aesthetic compared to overhead lines and less expensive in terms of land acquisition challenges and wayleaves requirement," said Tarus.
Underground cabling is one of the ways in which the electricity company is expanding and enhancing the capacity of the power distribution network.
Other undertakings geared towards provision of quality electricity include refurbishment of existing substations to enhance their efficiency, construction of additional substations and associated lines and replacement of damaged poles, among others
The underground cabling project is funded by a twenty-year concessional loan from China Exim Bank. It is expected to be completed by the end of July.
