Impact of Electrical Power Systems on the Environment in Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania

The understanding of the impacts caused by electrical power systems on environment is important in order to mitigate the environmental impacts. A literature review study on the direct non-generation greenhouse gas emissions in the construction and operation of the national electrical power transmission and a distribution (T &D) system was conducted in order to understand its impact on climate change. The results revealed that the impact of the distance of T &D lines to the greenhouse gas emissions, due to vegetation removal, is insignificant. The finding show that, Kenya is the lowest emitter in study area with the highest average flow of electricity; compared to Rwanda with the lowest average flow of electricity. The study contributes to an improvement of the understanding of the life cycle emission inventory and the impacts caused by electrical power T &D on greenhouse gases due to vegetation removal in particular. However, further studies are recommended, to cover a wider scope of the environmental impact and electrical power systems backed by primary data on materials consumption by the power systems and power losses in the system.