The Parliamentary Committee on Energy now says intentional failure to phase out thermal power companies owned by powerful individuals is to blame for the high cost of electricity.
The committee noted that the situation had been worsened by the failure to complete several transmission lines across the country.
This came as the committee said it would be reviewing all contracts entered between the State and Independent Power Producers (IPPs), terming many of them as questionable.
According to the committee chairman Vincent Kawaya, the only hope of reducing the cost of electricity in the country lay in phasing out the expensive thermal power stations.
He said investigations by the committee had established that there was a cartel out to protect the companies that were owned by some politicians in the country. "These IPPs get from the State the same cash as KenGen despite producing 25 per cent of electricity compared to the former that is generating 75 per cent," he said.
Energy sector
Addressing the press in Naivasha sub-county after meeting stakeholders in the energy sector, the Mwala MP said that the priority now lay in finalising the pending transmission lines.
"Some of the power lines like the Narok-Bomet line are expected to phase out the expensive Muhoroni gas station and we are concerned by its delay," he said. The MP defended the cut in budgetary allocation to various energy departments noting that they would have little impact on electricity generation in the country.
Energy Cabinet Secretary David Chirchir confirmed that no new power purchase agreement had been entered by the current regime with any private firm. He, however, called on parliament to be careful with the issue adding that there was a need to plan carefully as the country needed more electricity in the coming years.
"Due to the ongoing drought, we have been forced to increase the use of thermal energy which is expensive and this has seen the cost of electricity increase," he said. Chirchir called for more investment in geothermal exploration to meet the rising demand, noting that failure to do this would push the country into an electricity crisis as has happened in South Africa.
Energy Principal Secretary Alex Kamau said hydro-power was yet to fully recover from the drought noting that water levels in Masinga Dam had risen by two metres only.
