By Faridah N Kulumba
Africa-Press – Uganda. Rwanda Energy Development Corporation Limited (EDCL) revealed that the Power trading between neighboring countries Rwanda and Uganda could start soon.
EDCL is a subsidiary of Rwanda Energy Group (REG) that was given the authority to increase investment in the development of new energy generation projects, develop appropriate transmission infrastructure, and execute energy access projects to meet the national access targets.
According to the Director of Generation and Transmission at EDCL Theoneste Higaniro, the projects to enable power trading between the two countries include the Shango Substation and the Mirama-Shango-a 220kV Transmission Line, connecting Rwanda to Uganda with a length of 93.5km.
Mr. Higaniro added that the two projects are already completed and ready for power interconnection.
The first plan
Initial power trading through the lines between Uganda and Rwanda was planned to commence in 2020.
However, during the final testing of communication between the Shango Substation in Rwanda and the Mbarara Substation in Uganda, it was noticed that a communication booster was needed at Shango Substation for the signal to reach Mbarara Substation. At the moment the booster has already been procured and is on-site, only waiting for the engineer from the manufacturer to come for the installation.
All the installations and testing are expected to be completed by mid-June 2023.
Objectives of the energy projects to both countries
The project aimed to improve the standard of living of the citizens in these countries and the quality of the socio-economic development environment of the region, based on the availability of affordable electricity and increased access to electricity through cross-border electric power trade.
The interconnection projects, such as the Shango Substation, are vital for regional power exchange and trading across borders, thus providing access to cheaper power sources.
Higaniro explained that the constructed Mirama-Shango 220kV transmission line is a double circuit line with a capacity of carrying up to 400 MW. EDCL will be trading up to the capacity that is settled between dealings of the two utilities.
This means Rwanda can buy power from Uganda, as Uganda can also buy power from Rwanda. Shango Substation was built to interconnect the electric grids of Rwanda, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania.
The substation has two line bays to interconnect with Uganda networks, two line bays to interconnect with the Northern Eastern DRC network through the Rubavu substation, and two line bays to the Western Tanzania network through the Regional Rusumo Falls hydropower plant.
The Shango substation is ready for interconnection with the Uganda network, and the two other networks, one from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the other from Tanzania will also be interconnected once completed.
The interconnection project is one of the strategies in place to ensure that the country will meet future demand, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure.
Rwanda aims to have 44 substations by 2024 and generate 556 MW to meet the rapidly growing demand from the industrial sector, and to achieve 100 percent access to electricity.
Funders of the project
The Shango Substation was constructed with the support of development partners, particularly the African Development Bank, the German government through KfW, and the government of the Netherlands. The total estimated cost of the project is USD14.8 million.
The construction of the Shango Substation falls within the Power Interconnection Program, which aims to interconnect the electric grids of the Nile Equatorial Lakes (NBI) countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda.
Next step
According to Uganda’s Ministry of Energy, the commissioning of the Uganda-Rwanda line awaits the installation of communication boosters on the Rwandan side.
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