Reprieve for consumers as President Uhuru Kenyatta says cost of power to drop by 30pc

President Uhuru Kenyatta is welcomed to Olkaria IV power plant in Naivasha where he commissioned the 140mw plant the biggest geothermal power plant in Africa.  [Photo By Antony Gitonga/Standard]

Kenya: The cost of power is expected to come down by 30 per cent by the end of this month, following the commissioning of the biggest geothermal power plant in Africa.

While commissioning the 140 megawatt (mw) plant in Olkaria Naivasha, President Uhuru Kenyatta said the cost of power was expected to drop further in coming months.

He challenged manufacturers to pass the gains to consumers by cutting the price of basic goods like sugar and maize flour.

“We are committed to increasing power production to 5,000 mw by 2017, and also make sure that the cost of living comes down,” he said.

Uhuru was full of praise for Kengen and the Ministry of Energy, pointing out to the addition of 210 mw to the national grid from geothermal. “We expect more investors in the country and also more job opportunities for our youths, following the commissioning of this project,” he said.

On his part, deputy President William Ruto, who was present, said that the Government was committed to connecting all primary schools in the country with electricity by April next year. He said 70 per cent of Kenyans in the rural areas are not connected to electricity, assuring that this would be addressed through the rural electrification programme.

“We are now targeting to woo international investors into the country as there is readily available cheap and reliable power,” he said.

The Cabinet Secretary Energy Davis Chirchir, said the promised 5,000 mw project by the government, was on course, adding that this would reduce the cost of power. Chirchir said that since the Jubilee government took reigns, power production had risen from 1,600mw to 2,350mw.

“We expect power production to rise to 3,700 mw in 18 months, and we are projecting a drop in power tariffs in coming months,” he said. He said donors and the Government had spent $980 million (Sh87.22 billion) to finance the Olkaria I and IV whose total output was 280 mw.

The chairman Senate committee in Energy Gideon Moi, said that plans were under way to enact a law where communities would benefit from resources in the area. While praising the project, Moi wondered how counties would benefit from the proposed power drop as promised by the government. “We want to pass a law where the national and county governments will share resources while the mwananchi will also benefit,” he said.

While welcoming the project, Naivasha MP John Kihagi, said ongoing works had displaced and affected members of the pastoralists community in the area. “The government should consider assisting, economically, the pastoralists whose lives have been changed by the ongoing geothermal works,” he said.