Power plans on course, says Energy Principal Secretary Joseph Njoroge

Energy Principal Secretary Joseph Njoroge during a luncheon at a Nairobi hotel on August 11, 2014. A Canadian oil and gas exploration company wants Sh13 billion ($150 million) in compensation from Kenya because its exploration licences was cancelled. FILE PHOTO | SALATON NJAU

What you need to know:

  • The ambitious project aims to add an average of 125MW each month.
  • Among the planned projects is the Sh170 billion, 960MW coal power plant project, the single biggest plant of the 5,000MW programme.

The government plan to generate an extra 5,000 megawatts of electricity by 2017 are on course.

This is a year since the launch of the project that seeks to reduce the cost of power by up to 40 per cent.

The ambitious project aims to add an average of 125MW each month, (5,000MW divided by 40) from various sources when it is delivered in December 2016.

Top Ministry of Energy officials have recently been leading a campaign to urge existing and new industrialists to expand production in view of envisaged increase in generation capacity.

This is in addition to setting up various demand centres across the counties.

APPAREL VENURE

“We aim to divert an investor who is planning to set up an apparel venture in Ethiopia to instead set up in Olkaria and use the steam at Olkaria. The story of power cost reduction is real. A growth in generation must be commensurate to the growth in demand. We need to guarantee investors to get a return on their investment,” said Mr Joseph Njoroge, the Energy Principal Secretary at a meeting with MPs last week.

He said ongoing and planned mega infrastructure projects would also require high amounts of electricity.

Among the planned projects is the Sh170 billion, 960MW coal power plant project, the single biggest plant of the 5,000MW programme.

A consortium led by two local firms Gulf Energy and private equity fund Centum Investments won the tender to build the power plant.