How big is Kenya's transmission network?

OverWatts maps 3,616 km of transmission line in Kenya, across 100 segments, plus 4 substations. This is mapped length from OpenStreetMap, not an operator-reported total — where OSM is incomplete the figure is a floor, never a ceiling.

What voltage is Kenya's grid?

Most of the mapped network is high voltage (220–379 kV): 1,849 km of 3,616 km. The highest voltage tagged anywhere in the country is 500 kV.

How complete is the grid map for Kenya?

Partial — 6.1 km of mapped line per 1,000 km² of land, ahead of 22% of the 153 countries with any mapped grid. Coverage grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn the network, not how much network exists; large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone.

Who operates the grid in Kenya?

Ketraco, operator:wikidata=Q24236326, KETRACO (Kenyan Transmission Company) and 1 others are tagged as operators on mapped segments. Operator tags are present on 18% of Kenya's segments, so this ranks who is *recorded*, not market share.

What interconnectors connect Kenya to its neighbours?

2,145 MW of cross-border transfer capacity to Ethiopia, Uganda, plus 2,155 MW planned. Capacities are from the Global Transmission Database (v1.0, 2023).

Kenya · electricity network

Kenya power grid

OverWatts maps 3,616 km of Kenya's electricity transmission network across 100 line segments and 4 substations, the 68th most-mapped grid of 153 countries. Its backbone is high voltage (220–379 kV), carrying 1,849 km — 51% of the mapped length, with the highest tagged voltage at 500 kV. That works out to 6.1 km per 1,000 km² of land — partial OpenStreetMap coverage, ahead of 22% of mapped countries. It is connected to 2 neighbouring grids by 2,145 MW of existing cross-border transfer capacity, with a further 2,155 MW planned.

Open the grid lens →Kenya profile →

3,616 km

Mapped transmission line

Substations

#68

of 153 mapped grids

2.1 GW

cross-border · 2 neighbours

500 kV

Highest voltage

OpenStreetMap coverage

Partial6.1 km / 1,000 km²ahead of 22% of 153 mapped countries

This grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn Kenya's network — not how much network exists. Large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone, and every kilometre here is mapped length, so the totals are a floor rather than an operator-reported figure. 33% of segments carry a real line name and 18% an operator tag.

Mapped line length by voltage

380–764 kV1,752 km 48%
220–379 kV1,849 km 51%
Voltage untagged15 km 0%

100 segments · a segment is credited to the country containing its midpoint, so a border-crossing line counts once, on one side.

Cross-border links from Kenya

Ethiopia2.0 GW
Uganda145 MW
Tanzania2.0 GW · planned
Uganda155 MW · planned

2.1 GW existing · 2.2 GW planned · capacities from the Global Transmission Database v0.1 (CC BY 4.0), existing as of 2023

On the interactive map

Open the interactive map →

Load against the network

1.9 GW

Operating generation

Data centres mapped

904

km of line per substation

6.1

km per 1,000 km²

Where there is room to connect a new load depends on published hosting capacity, which most operators release only as their own map. OverWatts does not yet ingest those feeds, so these are the density measures the open data supports — generation and mapped demand against mapped network — not a headroom figure.

Operators tagged on Kenya's network

Ketraco13 72%
operator:wikidata=Q242363263 17%
KETRACO (Kenyan Transmission Company)1 6%
operator=operator:wikidata=Q242363261 6%

Segment counts from OSM `operator` tags, merged across spellings. Present on 18% of segments — this ranks who is recorded, not market share.

How Kenya compares · mapped grid by country

1. People's Republic of China624,300 km
66. Bolivia3,788 km
67. Hungary3,786 km
68. Kenya3,616 km
69. Switzerland3,595 km
70. Serbia3,345 km

Frequently asked

How big is Kenya's transmission network?: OverWatts maps 3,616 km of transmission line in Kenya, across 100 segments, plus 4 substations. This is mapped length from OpenStreetMap, not an operator-reported total — where OSM is incomplete the figure is a floor, never a ceiling.
What voltage is Kenya's grid?: Most of the mapped network is high voltage (220–379 kV): 1,849 km of 3,616 km. The highest voltage tagged anywhere in the country is 500 kV.
How complete is the grid map for Kenya?: Partial — 6.1 km of mapped line per 1,000 km² of land, ahead of 22% of the 153 countries with any mapped grid. Coverage grades how completely OpenStreetMap has drawn the network, not how much network exists; large, sparsely-populated countries score low for geographic reasons alone.
Who operates the grid in Kenya?: Ketraco, operator:wikidata=Q24236326, KETRACO (Kenyan Transmission Company) and 1 others are tagged as operators on mapped segments. Operator tags are present on 18% of Kenya's segments, so this ranks who is *recorded*, not market share.
What interconnectors connect Kenya to its neighbours?: 2,145 MW of cross-border transfer capacity to Ethiopia, Uganda, plus 2,155 MW planned. Capacities are from the Global Transmission Database (v1.0, 2023).

Elsewhere in Kenya

Transmission lines Substations Power plants Data centres

Network geometry: OpenStreetMap (ODbL) © OpenStreetMap contributors, ingested and measured by OverWatts · derived 2026-07-26. Counts every mapped line of 220 kV and above; the map layer draws the ≥380 kV backbone only, so it shows less than is measured here.