Located in Nyarugenge District at the top of Mount Kigali, the substation was upgraded from 10 MVAto 20MVA transformers to meet electricity demands in the four districts under the Grid Reduction Project, which targets to reduce annual power losses from 19.6 per cent.
The substation construction was sponsored by the European Union which granted Rwanda a €12 million funding.
The other portion of the funding will be used to construct the 27 kilometres power line linking Jabana Substation in Gasabo District, Mount Kigali substation and Gahanga Substation based in Kicukiro District.
Part of the money will also be used to construct new stations including Nzove station, installing digital power meters and 8000 transformers.
As he launched the new substation at Kigali Mountain, the Minister of Infrastructure, Amb. Claver Gatete commended the European Union for the funding it gave Rwanda and the role the Organization plays in strengthening power stations in Rwanda.
“The European Union continues to support Rwanda in different programs. Now we can witness good changes and reliable power supply,” Minister Gatete said.
Amb. Gatete explained that the substation will start operating on October 20, this year, and will mark the end to frequent power outages that were usually experienced by residents of the four districts.
The Director General for International Cooperation and Development at the European Union, Stefano Manservisi, commended Rwanda for efficiency in using the money, expressing optimism that reliable and adequate access to electricity will improve the investments and boost private businesses.
“We are happy for our contribution to these activities as we believe they will improve the private investments. Electricity is one of the factors that highly support the investment in countries,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Energy Group, Eng. Ron Weiss said, “this project will help reduce the volume of energy lost.”
Eng. Ron Weiss said that in 2016/17 energy loss was 21.1%, reducing to 19.6% in 2017/18.
Statistics by the Rwanda Energy Group indicate that 46.6% of the Rwandan households are connected to electricity, targeting 100% by 2024.
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