Government unveils new transmission line in boost for power supply

The line is expected to connect about 70,000 households across Homa Bay, Migori, and their environs. [Olivia Odhiambo, Standard]

The government has stepped up efforts to improve power supply in South Nyanza through the launch of a 132kV transmission Sondu-Ndhiwa-Homa Bay-Awendo transmission line.

The line is expected to connect about 70,000 households across Homa Bay, Migori, and their environs. 

According to Ministry officials, the new infrastructure aligns with Kenya’s push toward a 24-hour economy, enabling businesses, markets, and service providers to operate beyond daylight hours with greater confidence in electricity availability.

With this, the government expects a potential rise in national peak electricity demand as previously suppressed demand in Nyanza is unlocked, signalling renewed economic activity and growth.

Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi said it will also serve as an alternative supply path to neighbouring areas, enhancing power quality and redundancy.

Wandayi said the new power line ends outages and powers economic growth. 

The CS said the new capacity is expected to significantly reduce outages, support industry, and unlock new economic activity across the region.

"With ongoing and upcoming connection programmes, electrification coverage in South Nyanza and 
the surrounding areas of the South Rift supplied by the line are improving by 15 percent from an average of about 40 percent to roughly 55 percent. This marks a significant expansion in access alongside reliability gains," the CS noted.

Wandayi noted that the government has framed this as a major milestone in strengthening regional grid reliability and correcting long-standing supply constraints that previously limited economic growth in parts of western Kenya.

According to the Ministry, the new line has decongested the Muhoroni to Chemosit corridor that had been operating under heavy strain.

Before energisation, Sondu supplied no power to Ndhiwa, while the Muhoroni to Chemosit line carried loads as high as 68MW - levels which were considered stressful for system stability.

"After energisation, Sondu now supplies 27MW to Ndhiwa, while the load on Muhoroni to Chemosit has reduced to 40MW, and flows between Muhoroni and Kisumu have dropped significantly, allowing electricity to be distributed more efficiently across the network," explained Wandayi.

According to the Ministry, such rebalancing reduces the risk of overloads and cascading outages, strengthening grid resilience.