Energy firm boss sees bright future as calm returns to boardroom
Dr Silas Simiyu, the suspended managing director and chief executive of the Geothermal Development Company (GDC). PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Wrangles between board and management had threatened to derail company’s operations
- GDC is key to the plan to generate an additional 5,000MW in a bid to end outages, reduce power charges, and spur growth
After months of fighting over management at the Geothermal Development Company, calm seems to have returned and work ready to start.
The fight, which pitted the board against the management, threatened to derail the operations of the company that is at the centre of the country's economic growth plans.
GDC will play a major role in realising the country's goal of producing 5,000MW to boost power supply to industries.
In an interview with Smart Company, GDC's chief executive officer, Dr Silas Simiyu, said the company is now on course to meet the country’s power deficit that has for years held back industrial expansion.
“We need to be an energy-independent country. That is the only way we can become a progressive society. This is what we will deliver,” he said.
NOT AN EASY TASK
Dr Simiyu’s task at GDC is not an easy one. He is charged with ensuring that the country generates at least 5,000MW from geothermal sources in the next 17 years.
Is he equal to the task? The greatest asset in his toolbox is his more than 25 years of experience in energy generation.
He was instrumental in the establishment of the 35MW Olkaria II power plants and the drilling of 62 wells for the upcoming 280MW Olkaria IV and V power plants.
Fulfilling the ambitious power project will nonetheless not be a walk in the park for Dr Simiyu. One of his challenges was the raging war between the management and the board.
He has been accused of presiding over procurement flaws at the company and ignoring the board in running the company.
DRILLING RIGS
In March, he appeared before a parliamentary committee on public investments to defend a multi-billion-shilling contract the company entered with a Chinese firm, Sichuan Honghua Petroleum Equipment Company Ltd, to supply drilling rigs.
But the 52-year-old CEO sees these as just hurdles in a race he has to complete “for the good of the country.”
“As a leader, you are not going to please everyone. If you stop to chase all the barking dogs, you’ll not reach your destination,” he said.
Currently, Kenya only extracts about 20 per cent of the total 1,300MW power generated from geothermal sources.
The greatest challenge, Dr Simiyu says, is that geothermal generation is highly specialised and capital-intensive. It, therefore, demands special training, which is not available in the country, he added.
A PhD holder in applied geophysics from the University of Texas, Dr Simiyu said the government should invest in the training of more experts in local universities.
LOCAL TRAINING
The GDC boss also has a master of science and a bachelor of science degree in physics and geology from the University of Nairobi, a diploma in geothermal geophysics from the United Nations University in Iceland, and has served as a post-doctoral fellow in seismology at Duke University, USA.
GDC has initiated a local training programme in collaboration with the United Nations University in Iceland, where experts from Africa will be trained.
“All major economies thrive because of abundance of energy. Coal was instrumental in Europe’s industrial revolution. We want geothermal to achieve the same for Kenya,” Simiyu said.
The company, he said, is also setting up a regional training centre in Nakuru to bring up qualified practitioners to guide the country’s journey towards becoming a geothermal powerhouse.
