Tender wars halt Jubilee cheap power plans

What you need to know:

  • The Geothermal Development Company blamed the delay on prolonged negotiations between Kenya power and Independent Power Producers.
  • The delay has also been attributed to the slow pace at which GDC is drilling the steam wells.

The plan by the Geothermal Development Company to add 105MW of steam power to the national grid by December this year will be deferred by a year due to delays in the tendering process.

The Menengai steam power generation project was to begin in December this year after GDC picked three independent power producers, but take-off has been put on hold till November 2015.

The state agency blamed the delay on prolonged negotiations between Kenya Power and Independent Power Producers.

“The delay has been occasioned by the lengthy period it has taken before signing of power purchase agreements,” GDC chairman Faisal Abbas said on Monday in a statement.

In May, the geothermal company picked three firms: Quantum Power, OrPower 4 and Sosian Energy to generate 107 MW under a model where GDC supplied steam while investors were to build power plants.

The delay has also been attributed to the slow pace at which GDC is drilling the steam wells and an apparent inadequate steam in the Menengai region.

The development applies brakes on Jubilee government’s ambitious plans to reduce the cost of electricity in the country by shifting from thermal sources.