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Pool for surplus power across 13 electricity to be launched next year
Uganda has an installed electricity capacity of 1,350 megawatts but this is expected to increase to 2,048.1 megawatts by the end of this year. Photo / File
What you need to know:
- Data shows that member states under the Eastern Africa Power Pool have an electricity surplus of 878 megawatts and is expected to grow to 3,430 megawatts next year
An energy pool in which 13 countries will float surplus power for trading is now ready, according to Energy State Minister Okaasai Opolot, who says all trading platforms, including tariffs and regulations for the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP), have been set up.
Speaking at the EAPP Regional Power Trade Conference in Mombasa, Kenya, Mr Okaasai, also the EAPP Council of Ministers chairman, said member states will formally begin cross-border electricity trading next year to fill supply and efficiency gaps in the region’s energy eco-system.
“The pool has set up all trading platforms, including tariffs and regulations, ahead of the Day-Ahead Market launch next March,” he said, noting that, for an efficient cross-border power market to improve energy security, proper utilization of generated power and transition to sustainable energy systems would save costs.
"By providing access to a broader mix and more stable supply of renewable energy resources over a wider geographic area, it enables regions to integrate power demands in a way that helps meet some of the aforementioned challenges," Mr Opolot said.
The 13 member states include Uganda, Burundi, Comoros, DR Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia are attending.
In August, during the 31st EAPP steering committee meeting in Kampala, it was revealed that establishing a market committee and uniform trading tariffs to facilitate electricity trading across member countries, remained key in achieving the pool.
Uganda Electricity Transmission Company chief executive officer Joshua Karamagi, said then that uniform tariffs were expected to be fully operational by 2025, noting that power pooling required the deployment of high voltage cross-border interconnections and, the adoption of common technical, operational, and commercial codes by member utilities.
Several regional interconnections are ongoing with some nearing completion, while others are already operational. The 500-kilovolt high-voltage direct current electricity power line between Ethiopia and Kenya and the 220-kilovolt high-voltage alternating current line between Uganda and Rwanda are now functional.
Kenya has completed a 400-kilovolt line to Tanzania, which will not only enable Tanzania to harness renewable energy but leverage Kenya’s transmission infrastructure to access renewable energy from Ethiopia.
Other interconnections such as Egypt and Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda and Tanzania, and Uganda and South Sudan interconnections are scheduled to start next year.
This, therefore, puts member states on track to achieve the first level of interconnectivity, which necessitates member utilities to comply with common technical standards such as the EAPP Power Balance Statement to help the region obtain an interconnected system of more than 40,000 megawatts of additional electricity capacity over the next decade.
An auction system where countries with surplus electricity can make offers has been established.
Uganda continues to be an active member of EAPP, given its rising electricity production, which has resulted in a surplus of more than 362 megawatts and is projected to increase.
As of December 2023, Uganda boosted of generation capacity of 1,350 megawatts, with a maximum demand of 988 megawatts, of which, 868 megawatts were national consumption and 120 export demand. However, this is expected to increase to 2,048.1 megawatts by the end of this year.
Excess capacity
In East Africa Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya have reported achieving “excess capacity”, with generation capacity exceeding peak demand.
Data indicates that the 13 member countries under the Eastern Africa Power Pool currently have an electricity surplus of 878 megawatts, which is expected to grow to 3,430 megawatts next year.
