Kengen Chairman Joshua Choge speaks during the company Annual General
Meeting (AGM) at Safaricom Kasarani Stadium on November 30, 2016. PHOTO |
SALATON NJAU
Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has announced
plans to set up a special unit to address public concerns during the
design and execution of its projects.
The team will
monitor rollout of all KenGen initiatives and handle grievances as the
power generator moves to cut the cost of implementing solar, geothermal
and wind projects.
Chief Executive Rebecca Miano said
on Wednesday the community engagement move would reduce risks as KenGen
undertakes its mega energy projects, mainly in geothermal.
“As
an organisation, we have seen community expectations change over time,
meaning we must always adjust the way we relate with them to fit into
the dynamic environment in which we operate,” said Ms Miano.
“It
is also important to point out that there is a growing need for
communities to have a greater voice in the priorities and decisions that
affect them”.
KenGen, which is leading Kenya’s shift
to renewable energy, has previously rolled out big-ticket wind and
geothermal projects that involved relocating communities. Its
construction of wind farm in Ngong and extraction of geothermal energy
in Naivasha have never attracted resistance in the scale witnessed by
Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited’s power lines in the area
or Tullow Oil in northern Kenya.
Under the community engagement strategy developed in partnership
with bilateral partners, KenGen has prioritised a “structured dialogue”
with communities to prevent conflict as its rolls out projects to
expand access to electricity.
"The government is keen
to secure goodwill from communities to ensure there is speedy
implementation of energy infrastructure projects," said Energy Secretary
Charles Keter.
"By involving communities at all stages
of the project's implementation, we will avoid litigation that push up
their cost and undermine the goal of achieving universal access to power
for households by 2022."
Kenya has outlined an ambitious mid-term goal of generating 5,000 megawatts of power to feed its Vision 2030 energy needs.
The
officials said future investments in power generation and distribution
would be ecologically sensitive and responsive to the social and
economic needs of local communities.
"We believe that
adopting practices that are responsive to the needs of local communities
is key to success of our operations," said Joshua Choge, KenGen board
chairman.
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