Kenya Power chief executive Ben Chumo. PHOTO | FILE
By NEVILLE OTUKI
Kenya has more than doubled electricity sales to
Uganda and looks to start supplying Rwanda by year end following the
injection of additional geothermal power into the national grid.
Official data shows that Kenya exported 26.56 million
kilowatt-hours (kWh) to Uganda and Tanzania in the year to July, up from
12.63 million kWh in the same period last year — a 110.2 per cent
growth.
Uganda, which is pushing for increased trade with
Kenya, bought the bulk of Kenya’s power exports at 25.33 million units
while Tanzania imported 1.23 million units, Energy Regulatory Commission
(ERC) data shows.
“The country has increased power sales and cut
imports largely due to the additional geothermal energy to the grid,”
said John Mutua, ERC senior manager for economic regulation.
Kenya’s energy scale-up also saw the country cut
electricity imports from Uganda by more than half to 31.05 million units
from 66.17 million units in the first seven months of 2014.
The country stopped purchase of electricity from
Tanzania in the year to July. Kenya also imports power from Ethiopia to
feed the neighbouring Moyale County, which is not linked to the national
electricity grid.
Kenya had last year stepped up imports from Uganda
to meet growing need for power driven by rising demand from
industrialists and increased customer connections, particularly in rural
areas.
Electricity distributor Kenya Power’s
managing director Ben Chumo last month said Kenya would export 30
megawatts of electricity to Rwanda “in the next three months”.
The country plans to construct a Sh5.3 billion
power transmission line from January to link it with Tanzania that will
further boost power trade.
The decline in imports follows the injection of 280
megawatts of geothermal power into the national grid between July and
December last year, which has resulted in a decline in power bills for
more a than a fifth over the past year.
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