Ruto now defends Ksh96b Adani power lines deal

President William Ruto has for the first time publicly defended the controversial deal with the Adani Group for construction of high voltage power transmission lines.

The President’s public support comes two weeks after the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) signed the contract with Adani Energy Solutions Limited for the construction of three power transmission lines and associated substations at a cost of Ksh95.68 billion ($736 million).

Adani Energy Solutions Limited is a subsidiary of the Adani Group, an Indian conglomerate owned by billionaire Gautam Adani. It will build the lines and related substations and operate them for a period of 30 years before transferring then to the Kenyan government.

President Ruto said that Kenya would have otherwise been forced to borrow to construct the key transmission lines, which would have exerted further pressure on taxpayers through an extra debt burden.

“The Adani Group are investing in the transmission line with Ksh95 billion. We would otherwise have gone to borrow that money and burden the people of Kenya,” said President Ruto.

The President was speaking on Thursday during the groundbreaking of the Ksh12 billion 35MW OrPower 22 geothermal power plant at Menengai in Nakuru. Even then, Dr Ruto said that power consumers will pay for the line through a new tariff that will be introduced in the power bill.

This will further increase the cost of electricity in the country, which is already the highest in the region.

“We will pay for that transmission line using a wheeling charge that has been negotiated,” said the Head of State.

The transmission lines and substations being developed by Adani are:

• The 400kV double-circuit Gilgil-Thika-Malaa-Konza Line: Spanning 208.73km, the line will include new substations at Gilgil, Thika, and Malaa, as well as substantial extensions at Konza.

• The 220kV Rongai-Keringet-Chemosit Line: Covering 99.98km, this line will include substations at Rongai, Keringet, and Chemosit.

• The 132kV Menengai-Ol Kalou-Rumuruti line: This is a 89.88km line with substations at Menengai, Ol Kalou, and Rumuruti.

• The 400/220kV Substation at Lessos.

• The 132/33kV Substation at Thurdibuoro.

In its proposal to KETRACO, Adani has asked for $164.09 million in revenue annually, which translates to about Ksh21.2 billion for operations, maintenance, debt repayment and profit.

Over the 30-year period of its concession, this will translate to more than Ksh636 billion.

Besides the power lines, Adani is also in talks with the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) to takeover the operations of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for 30 years.

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