Minister: No more Kenya power cuts

• Solar, wind and geothermal power generation will put an end to blackouts, says Mr Murungi.

Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi has declared an end to future power rationing in the country.

“There will be no future power rationing  in Kenya,” the minister said.

He was speaking at the Energy and Competitive Electricity Conference in Nairobi’s Hilton Hotel on Monday.

Mr Murungi said the push by government to move into solar, wind and geothermal power generation will put an end to blackouts.

The minister’s statement comes less than two months after the end of a severe power rationing scheme following reduced water levels in the hydropower generating firms due to long droughts.

The minister said new rules will soon be gazzetted to force all buildings within the city and other major towns to install solar water heaters.

But even as he complained of an apparent apprehension by private investors in the geothermal industry, he urged them to “see” the profitability of the industry.

An estimated Sh80 billion is required to buy generators and drill wells for the production of geothermal power, the minister said. The country’s geothermal potential is estimated at 7,000 megawatts.

Solar energy, the minister said, was still at “insignificant levels” in the country despite the all-year sunshine. Most of the solar projects have been confined to the arid and semi-arid lands, the minister said.

At the same venue, Prime Minister Raila Odinga spoke of government’s commitment to generate 2.000 megawatts of “green energy” within the next three years.

The PM, whose office has been spearheading the move towards a green economy since July, said the government was “willing to bite the bullet” to achieve the goal.

“Even though it looks ambitious, we have a concrete plan to ensure it gets done,” Mr Odinga said of the move towards wind, solar and geothermal power.

He added that with the investor apprehension in the energy sector, the government was ready to borrow funds at market rates to increase energy production.

“We need an ample supply of energy at affordable rates,” the Prime Minister said.

He appealed to donors to “be flexible” and “release funds faster."

Reliable energy supply has been touted as one of the key ingredients in the march towards a middle-level economy, as envisioned in the country’s development roadmap, Kenya Vision 2030.

French Ambassador to Kenya Ms Elisabeth Barbier and the deputy director of the French Development Agency (AFD) Jean Michel Debrat  assured the PM of continued support in the push for green energy.

Mr Debrat termed the current situation in the energy industry in Kenya as “untenable” in the face of fluctuating crude oil prices.

“New energy solutions must be found to get free from hydro-reliance and from international oil prices that Kenya cannot influence,” he said.

Mr Achim Steiner, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said that with the right policies, Kenya had a potential to export green energy to the rest of East Africa.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Raila Odinga set Kenya’s agenda to the December, United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

He said the focus should be on achieving a green economy by the year 2020.

“We are not going to Copenhagen for the usual blame game of who is causing most pollution and who is the victim.... We ought to come out with solutions,” Mr Odinga said.