Kenya commissions 140MW of electricity

The government Thursday commissioned 140MW of power as part of the 280MW it hard set out to add to the national grid starting August 2014 in a move aimed at boosting power supply.

Kenya is banking on cheap power to bolster investor confidence in the country so as to spur industrialization after years of stagnation in productivity.

“We expect power prices to continuing going down gradually as promised by the government last year,” said Mr Jonathan Lodompui, director of Enablers and Macro at the Vision 2030 secretariat.

The move is expected to cut pressure on the national grid caused by declining water levels in various dams due to drought, which has reduced hydroelectricity supply.

SIX PER CENT

Kenya’s economy is expected to grow by 6 per cent this year, raising demand and piling pressure on the 1,900MW current installed capacity.

The move is part of the short-term goal to increase power output by 393MW by June 2015 and 5,000MW by 2017.

However, Mr Lodompui said the national grid is clustered such that some areas are served by diesel plants and some by hydroelectricity plants depending on their location, meaning that the price cuts will not be uniform, at least not immediately.

Consumers have, however, expressed concern that the previous drop in the cost of power has not been commensurate with that promised by the government.

The injection is expected to reduce the fuel and exchange rate components of the electricity bill over and above helping to stabilize supply.

“A total of 280MW of energy have been realized after 140MW was added through Olkaria IV on October 17, 2014, and 140MW through Olkaria I to be commissioned on Thursday 19 February, 2015,” the Vision 2030 secretariat said in an email to Nation.co.ke.

At 40 million, Kenya’s population equals that of Argentina, but Argentina’s 40,000MW installed capacity makes Kenya look more of a country than an economy.