Kenya Power will focus more in connecting industries as it seeks create demand for 5,000 megawatts which will be added to the national grid. PHOTO|FILE. NATION
In Summary
Kenya, like many other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, has low levels of access to electricity among her population.
Currently, the total installed power generation capacity is about 1,600MW built over time since independence.
By Nation Reporter
More by this Author
Kenya Power will focus more in connecting industries as it moves to create demand for 5,000 megawatts planned to be added to the national grid in the next four years.
Speaking at the East African Power Industry Convention held yesterday, Kenya Power acting chief executive Mr Ben Chumo, told regional investors in the sector that the electricity distributor will target to raise annual power connections from the current 300,000.
“We shall increase the total annual connections to 500,000,” Mr Chumo noted.
Challenges and opportunities
The convention brought together industry chiefs to discuss challenges and opportunities in the regional electricity market.
Kenya, like many other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, has low levels of access to electricity among her population.
The access currently stands at below 30 per cent.
On Monday, the government, through the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum launched a plan to generate 5,000 megawatts in four years.
If successful, the plan will see the country more than triple its installed electricity capacity.
Currently, the total installed power generation capacity is about 1,600MW built over time since independence.
Out of these, 700 megawatts are hydro power that is prone to unreliable weather conditions.
Apart from industries, Kenya Power is also targeting the Special Economic Zones- specialized manufacturing areas that are targeted to be established in various parts of the country to spur industrialization- as potential markets for electricity.
“We are targeting the growth of Special Economic Zones to consume this energy. We look forward to utilizing it beyond schedule,” said Mr Chumo.
This is in addition to the mining industry which the company reckons will attract aggressive activity following recent discoveries of oil and gas deposits that are hoped to generate increased interest in the country’s minerals.
Last month, Kenya Power announced that it considered power connections in the rural areas as “uneconomical” in the wake of rising cost of electricity connection equipment such as cables and poles, giving an indication that the company could shift focus to urban connections.
The company is currently sinking its transmission infrastructure in major towns countrywide as it seeks to cut on vandalism that is estimated to cost it more than Sh1 billion annually in power losses.
No comments :
Post a Comment