Electricity imports from Ethiopia jumped by 43.66 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in the year ended June 2026, underscoring Addis Ababa’s growing role in powering Kenya amid rising domestic demand.
Data from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) shows that imports from Ethiopia rose to 1,577.66GWh in the period under review from 1,534GWh the previous year.
Electricity from Ethiopia as a share of the overall power imports grew to 82.45 per cent in the period under review, with Uganda supplying 322.06GWh or 16.83 per cent, while Tanzania contributed 6.53GWh.
Demand for electricity has soared over the years amid increased economic activity and growing connections, with the economy recording four peak-demand records since July last year, with the latest demand reaching 2,549 megawatts (MW) on July 15, 2026.
“Electricity imports accounted for 12.19 per cent of the total energy mix during the period under review. The country imported 1,913.66 GWh of electricity, an increase of 379.81 GWh from the 1,533.85 GWh imported in the previous year,” said Epra.
“The share of electricity imports in the energy mix increased by 159 basis points, from 10.60 per cent to 12.19 per cent, indicating a growing reliance on imported electricity to meet domestic demand.”
The energy sector regulator notes that the remaining share of total imports, 7.4GWh, was supplied by the Ethiopia Electric Utility (EEU) to the border town of Moyale.
Kenya Power signed a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Ethiopia Electric Power in 2022, allowing Kenya to import up to 200 megawatts (MW) at peak and 65MW during off-peak hours under the PPA terms.
The imports will rise to 400MW at peak and 150MW off-peak from December this year in line with provisions of the PPA, as Kenya seeks to tap more of Ethiopia’s vast hydropower.
Epra says the regional power agreements are a way for Kenya to access competitively priced renewable energy from neighbouring countries, while improving the reliability of the interconnected grid.
Increased imports from Ethiopia have been key in averting widespread rationing of electricity when demand peaks in the evening, besides cushioning consumers from steep power bills.
The deepening reliance on Ethiopia has helped Kenya Power to avoid tapping the costly thermal power during peak demand in the evening. Increased usage of thermal power hits consumers in the form of steep electricity bills.
Kenya continues to record a rise in electricity consumption, with data from Epra showing that demand increased by 8.55 per cent in the year to June 2026. Kenya remains heavily reliant on geothermal and locally generated and imported hydropower to meet the country’s growing demand.
Epra data shows that geothermal is still the single biggest source of electricity to the national electricity grid, accounting for 40.9 per cent of total supply, followed by hydro at 24.21 per cent, while wind is third at 13.18 per cent, and imports are fourth at 12.26 per cent.
