Kenya Power has entered into an agreement to import hydropower from Ethiopia under the Kenya-Ethiopia Electricity Highway Project. As per the deal, Ethiopia will export 200 MW of electricity to Kenya in the first phase of the power export deal, with a plan to double it in the future. The deal involves a 500 kV transmission interconnector linking the two countries’ power systems while also creating a pathway for countries within the East African region to trade electricity. The US$1.3bn project started in 2016, involving the construction of a 1,068-km power transmission line inter-linking the grids of Kenya and Ethiopia. The interconnector, which was funded by the World Bank and the African Development Bank, would also integrate power systems of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda under the Eastern African Power Pool (EAPP) Master Plan. Commercial operations could start in November 2022 upon the joint testing and commissioning of the inter-connector.