NAIROBI, Kenya — In a move to upgrade its aging electricity infrastructure, Kenya has tapped U.S. power giant GE Vernova and India’s engineering heavyweight Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to build a state-of-the-art National System Control Centre (NSCC).
The project, commissioned by the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO), is being billed as the digital nerve center that will monitor and manage electricity flow across the country—finally giving the grid something close to a brain.
The GE Vernova-L&T consortium will construct two key facilities: a main control center in Embakasi and an emergency backup center in Suswa.
The project, officially booked in Q1 this year, is set for completion within three years. That may feel like a long wait, but once it’s done, Kenya’s electricity network will be smarter, faster, and more resilient than ever before.
“This is a game-changer for Kenya’s electricity transmission capabilities,” said KETRACO CEO John Mativo. And he’s not exaggerating.
The NSCC is expected to radically transform the way Kenya manages power—especially as demand continues to rise and outages remain a thorn in the side of homes and businesses.
GE Vernova, through its French subsidiary Grid Solutions SAS, will take the lead on technology. That includes rolling out advanced software systems, telecommunications upgrades, and substation automation.
Meanwhile, L&T is tasked with boots-on-the-ground operations: civil works, equipment installation, and the rigorous testing needed before anything goes live.
Funding for the ambitious project is fully secured, thanks to a combination of support from the French Development Agency (AFD), the French Treasury, and the European Union.
It’s a powerful show of faith in Kenya’s energy transition—and a nod to the strength of Franco-Kenyan relations.
French Ambassador Arnaud Suquet put it plainly: “A modern control centre will make Kenya’s grid more resilient and support renewable energy integration.”
And that integration couldn’t come sooner. With the government targeting universal electricity access by 2030, Kenya has been pouring resources into grid modernization and smart technology to address the twin challenges of rising demand and frequent blackouts.
But Kenya’s power journey hasn’t been without its missteps. Last year, President William Ruto’s administration cancelled a 30-year, Sh95.7 billion deal with India’s Adani Energy Solutions.
That public-private partnership had aimed to construct new transmission lines—until controversy erupted after Adani’s founder was indicted in the U.S., and the Law Society of Kenya challenged the deal in court.
The High Court suspended the agreement just before Ruto publicly pulled the plug. Since then, KETRACO has shifted gears, now in talks with Africa50—an African Development Bank initiative—on a fresh Sh45 billion deal to construct two new power lines.
In the end, the GE Vernova and L&T contract represents is a signal that Kenya is finally serious about building a grid that can power its future.
