Utilities
From The Report: Kenya 2016
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By 2017 the country has an ambitious target of adding 5000 MW to the national grid. Of this, the government plans to include 1600 MW from geothermal sources, 1920 MW from coal-powered plants, 420 MW from hydro and 650 MW from wind. The government has outlined a significant role for the private sector in these projects, and recent legislative reforms should see the number of independent power plants in the country continue to increase. Investors are expected to move to capitalise on the huge potential for future expansion despite the high initial input costs and an infrastructure deficit that could delay projects.

This chapter contains interviews with: Albert Mugo, Managing Director and CEO, Kenya Electricity Generating Company; and Andrew Herscowitz, US Coordinator, Power Africa

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Powering ahead: Major initiatives by both the government and the private sector are set to address energy shortfalls
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The country’s utilities sector is in the midst of a rapid transformation, with a host of ambitious new projects expected to alter Kenya’s energy mix for the better, reducing import dependency and slowly ending decades of capacity constraints that have aggravated residential consumers and impeded industrialisation. Renewable energy development will make the most significant impact, as the government moves to capitalise on its considerable geothermal, wind and solar resources, while a series of…

Analysis

Trading up: Significant upgrades will be needed to meet the government’s ambitious targets for electrification
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The country’s electrification targets are ambitious; Kenya hopes to add an additional 5000 MW of generation capacity by 2017, and an additional 23,000 MW by 2030. Although the government has already unveiled its Last Mile Connectivity Project (LMCP), which will connect an additional 300,000 Kenyan households to the national grid in the coming years, significant infrastructure upgrades are required in order to successfully implement this scheme. Capacity Constraints The Kenya Power and Lighting…

Interview

Power play: OBG talks to Albert Mugo, Managing Director and CEO, Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen)
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Interview:Albert Mugo What role do you see for the private sector in terms of electricity generation in Kenya? ALBERT MUGO: Power plants are, by nature, incredibly capital-intensive projects, and therefore it is essential that the country explore all options when looking to boost generating capacity. The government has plans to bring 5000 MW of capacity on-line by 2017, and while KenGen is currently the country’s leading supplier, it is in no position to bring the entire 5000 MW onto the…

Interview

Powering a continent: OBG talks to Andrew Herscowitz, US Coordinator, Power Africa
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Interview:Andrew Herscowitz What do you see as the biggest challenges to achieving the goals of Power Africa? ANDREW HERSCOWITZ: There are quite a few challenges, but I would say the two key factors are time and people. Naturally, it takes a significant amount of time to develop the sort of large-scale power projects we are looking at. When Power Africa was first launched, there were a number of large projects – especially hydro or gas – that for one reason or another had been delayed…

Analysis

The price is right: Affordability is central to efforts to expand access to electricity
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In a bid to boost electrification nationwide, Kenya recently moved to cut electricity connection fees by over 50%, while low-income customers will be able to pay the connection fee off in instalments added to their monthly bill. The revisions are expected to see a significant increase in the number of households connected to the national grid, which lines up with wider efforts to boost electrification rates to 70% by 2017. These efforts include, among other things, adding over 5000 MW of electricity…

Analysis

Steam powered: Geothermal power is a growing part of the energy mix and is set to change the market in the near term
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Geothermal energy offers a solution to Kenya’s energy constraints that is both cost-effective and has great development potential, and it is now the largest contributor to total power production in Kenya. Furthermore, it is set to expand significantly in the next 15 years. The government and private sector have both made considerable progress in rolling out new geothermal projects in recent years, most notably in the Olkaria region, and private sector interest in the development of new geothermal…