Kenya ramps up power supply by 280MW

The Olkaria geothermal power plant as seen in Rift Valley Province. PHOTO/FILE

What you need to know:

  • Power generator KenGen and distributor Kenya Power said on Saturday there will be major power disruptions on the Olkaria power line that serves major urban areas, including Nairobi, at the time the electricity generated at Olkaria will be loaded onto the national grid.
  • KenGen managing director Albert Mugo, however, said this is just preparatory work that will see an initial 70MW of the 280MW loaded for testing before it is commissioned around mid-April.
    Another 70MW will be commissioned in May before the balance is added later.

Kenya’s total power capacity will go up 17.5 per cent after the national grid gets an extra 280 megawatt boost starting 29th March 2014 as efforts to cut electricity costs gather steam.

This will raise the total installed electricity capacity to 1,880 megawatts from 1,600 megawatts in a move aimed at reducing the cost of electricity by substituting diesel powered generators with renewable power.

Power generator KenGen and distributor Kenya Power said on Saturday there will be major power disruptions on the Olkaria power line that serves major urban areas, including Nairobi, at the time the electricity generated at Olkaria will be loaded onto the national grid.

Kengen said that the addition will be done in phases to avoid massive power blackouts in the country.

“As part of the Government of Kenya’s effort to scale up power generation by 5,000 megawatts in 40 months, KenGen and Kenya Power require to access the national grid to facilitate the connection of the 280MW of geothermal power in Olkaria,” the two energy firms said in a statement on Saturday.

KenGen managing director Albert Mugo, however, said an initial 70MW of the 280MW will be loaded loaded for testing before it is commissioned around mid-April.

Another 70MW will be commissioned in May before the balance is added later.

Kenya's low power supply has been blamed for stalling economic growth and increasing the cost of living. Developing country's such as Argentina which has almost the same population boasts 24,000MW of power.

Mr Mugo said on phone that the ongoing process involves connection in preparation for commissioning the actual flow of the power in the national grid.

Cost of power set to decline

“This is just preparatory work that will enable us to do tests to ensure everything is working properly before commissioning,” he said.

Earlier in the year, Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir said the cost of power is set to decline significantly from July this year with the completion of the 280 megawatt Olkaria I and IV geothermal power plants.  

“The cost of producing electricity using geothermal steam can go as low as 2 US cents making it possible to lower the cost of energy substantially to spur economic growth,” the minister said.

The Olkaria I and IV power projects have a capacity of 140 MW each. There are also plans to build more plants at Olkaria V, VI and VII sites to generate an additional 350MW of power.