Electricity demand on the rise as business activity picks up

Energy Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma joins senior Kengen staff in a tour of the control room at one of KenGen's Olkaria geothermal power stations in Naivasha. [Antony Gitonga, Standard]

Demand for electricity has picked up after a slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A report by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) shows peak demand stands at 2,065 megawatts (MW), an increase from 2,036MW recorded in November 2021. The rise in demand has been attributed to the resumption of production by industries after the closure and scaling down of business due to the pandemic.

Epra said energy gross demand registered a 1.2 per cent growth to peak at 36,825.78 megawatt hours (MWh), up from 36,380.63MWh in November last year. Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has played a crucial role in providing renewable energy sources with geothermal making the greatest contribution.

“The total amount of electricity generated by KenGen through its hydropower stations exceeded the National Control Centre dispatch projections by 111.08MW, denoting a 1.2 per cent increase,” the report said.

In a statement published in its weekly review report, KenGen said the electricity was mostly drawn from renewable energy sources. Managing Director Rebecca Miano said the company was committed to delivering on its energy generation mandate to meet the country’s growing demand for electricity.

She said the report was a reflection of KenGen's ongoing strategic efforts to meet the country’s growing demand through harnessing Kenya’s rich renewable energy sources.

“KenGen is committed to ensuring a steady and reliable supply of competitively priced electricity to support Kenya’s economy,” Ms Minao said.