Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) will build a new substation and extend an existing one at the Coastal region in a Sh15.8 billion ($57 million and €54.3 million) project aimed at boosting the quality of electricity supply in the region.
The firm has invited contractors to bid for the project that will entail construction of a 220/132 kilovolts (kV) substation in Kilifi and extension of a 220/33kV substation in Malindi.
The deadline for submitting the bids is March 24, 2026.
The Coastal region has for years suffered from unstable voltage, largely due to a constrained transmission network and long distance from the major power generation hubs.
The Sh15.8 billion venture, which is part of the project dubbed Kenya Transmission Network Improvement Project (KTRNIP) is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Korean Exim bank (EDCF) and is meant to revamp the transmission network across the country.
“The Government of Kenya has applied for financing from the African Development Bank (AfDB) towards the cost of the Kenya Transmission Network Improvement Project,” Ketraco said.
Power supply at the coast is significantly affected during the peak hours in the evening, in what forces increased use of the dirty and expensive thermal power.
The region is the second biggest consumer of electricity amongst the eight regions as classified by Kenya Power and consumed 1,932 Gigawatt-hours of power or 17 percent of the total 11,403GWh that consumers in the eight regions used in the year ended June 2025.
Kenya Power customers at the Coastal region have, like in other parts of Kenya increased, further straining the quality of power transmission in the region.
Kenya Power customers in the region rose 3.4 percent to 721,896 in the year ended June 2025 from 697,562 a year earlier. Construction of the substation in Kilifi and extension of the one in Malindi is part of the KTRNIP plan that seeks to enhance the high-voltage transmission network across the country to meet the growing demand.
Ketraco is revamping the transmission network while Kenya Power is upgrading the distribution network in a bid to lower the number of outages and low-quality electricity supply caused by the constrained network.
The two State-owned firms are racing against time to boost the capacity of the transmission and distribution network amid a fast-rising demand and increased connections.
Electricity consumption is on a steady rise driven by increased economic activities and connections, which have exerted pressure on the aging transmission and distribution network.
The total connections to the national grid hit 10.04 million in the year ended June 2025, with the Coast region accounting for 7.2 percent of these or 721,896 customers.
Construction of the substation in Kilifi and extension of the one in Malindi comes less than a year after Ketraco completed the 400/200kV substation in Mariakani.
