Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID), a Maharatna PSU under the Ministry of Power, has signed a landmark Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement with Africa50 for the development of major transmission infrastructure projects in Kenya. The agreement covers the 400 kV Lessos–Loosuk and 220 kV Kisumu–Kakamega–Musaga transmission lines, with a concession period of 30 years.
The agreement was signed in the presence of senior officials from POWERGRID, including Chairman and Managing Director Dr. R. K. Tyagi, Director (Personnel) Dr. Yatindra Dwivedi, and COO (IB) Sanjay Kumar Gupta, along with top representatives from the Government of Kenya. This initiative marks Africa’s first Independent Transmission Project (ITP) and POWERGRID’s first project-financed international transmission venture on the African continent.
The transmission projects aim to enhance the reliability and resilience of Kenya’s national grid by enabling efficient evacuation of power from renewable energy–rich regions to key demand centres, supported by modern substations and transmission infrastructure. Structured under a PPP framework, the project underscores increasing investor confidence in private sector participation in Africa’s power transmission sector.
Africa50, backed by African governments and the African Development Bank, brings strong regional expertise and financial structuring capabilities, while POWERGRID contributes its proven technical, operational, and project management experience. With operations across more than 25 countries, POWERGRID continues to expand its global footprint as a trusted partner in power transmission development.
As of December 15, 2025, POWERGRID operates 287 substations, over 1,81,894 circuit kilometers of transmission lines, and 5,93,016 MVA of transformation capacity, maintaining an impressive average system availability exceeding 99.84% through advanced automation and digital solutions.
