Why you could start paying less for electricity

KenGen CEO Eng Peter Njenga. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) is projecting lower electricity tariffs for households and businesses due to the strong water levels across its Seven Forks Dams and other hydro power stations in the country.

The electricity-generating company has assured consumers of a secure and uninterrupted electricity supply in the coming months, thanks to the healthy situation.

This came as the hydro-power stations surpassed the targeted power supply in the country, as water levels in the hydro-dams continued to rise.

According to a release from the company, the hydro system was operating near optimum levels, producing 11.7m kilowatt-hours above a projection of 10.95m kilowatt-hours.

The company’s acting MD, Ahmed Issack, said that Masinga Dam levels stood at 1,056.54m, Kamburu at 1,006.07m, Gitaru at 923.69m, and Kindaruma at 780.28m, all above their minimum operating levels.

He said that the daily reports had proven that the hydro units were healthy, showed no pattern of emergency generation and reflected steady performance across the hydro-cascade.

“Kenyan households and businesses could benefit from lower power costs due to the strong water levels across the Seven Forks Dams and other hydro power stations,” he said.

Ahmed further noted that maintaining strong hydro output helped moderate overall power costs, protect consumers and industry from price shocks and reinforce grid stability.

“Strong reservoir levels averaging about 99 per cent of operating capacity position Kengen to continue maximising hydropower generation, the cheapest sources of electricity in the grid,” he said.

The MD, at the same time, assured communities living downstream of the Seven Forks cascade of their safety even as water levels continued to rise.

Ahmed noted that a combination of healthy reservoir levels, prudent water management and reliable hydropower generation had enabled Kengen to sustain affordable and clean electricity while protecting downstream communities.

“Our engineers run a robust water management program designed to keep reservoirs within safe operating ranges and we do not expect uncontrolled spilling so long as inflows remain manageable,” he said.

Speaking earlier, Kengen CEO Eng. Peter Njenga said that they were working with the Kingdom of Bhutan in South Asia to explore the possibility of geothermal in the region.

“Kenya is among the leading producers of geothermal power and with our expertise, we are working with other countries, including the Bhutan Kingdom, to tap this clean energy,” he said.

Speaking in Olkaria, Naivasha, he said that the company had been awarded exploration rights in Zambia and Tanzania while drilling was ongoing in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eswatini.

He said KenGen would deploy its technological support and decades-old expertise to assist the six countries' transition to clean energy sources.

“We successfully supported Ethiopia and Djibouti and our next stop is Bhutan and Eswatini, which have high potential for geothermal energy,” he said.