- KenGen , the State-owned Kenya Electricity Generating Company together with the government targets to increase geothermal power capacity to 1,260 megawatts (MW) by 2022.
- The company has decided to seek the support of experts who will provide advice on scientific, engineering and project management aspects of geothermal development activities and power plant operations.
KenGen ,the State-owned Kenya Electricity Generating Company together with the government, targets to increase geothermal power capacity to 1,260 megawatts (MW) by 2022, as a preamble to its plan to double its total electricity generating capacity to 4,270 MW by 2025.To achieve this target, the KenGen is seeking to hire experts to guide efforts to raise its geothermal capacity. The proposal is to hire five international experts and one local geothermal expert in the board of consultants.
Till recently KenGen dominated the power sector in the country. However, with the entry of new private players who are making multibillion-shilling investments in the renewable energy segment its leadership is threatened. A recent report, by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) said the share of KenGen, which supplies three-quarters of Kenya’s electricity, is being chipped away by the private firms, who are mainly active in the field of renewable and green energy. The company has thus decided to seek the support of experts who will provide advice on scientific, engineering and project management aspects of geothermal development activities and power plant operations. The term of the contract will be for a period of four years subject to annual renewal.
The report added that structure and share of power generation still remains hugely in favour of KenGen which also continues to make huge investments in expanding its capacity.
KenGen generates hydro and geothermal power, and mainly works in the thermal, wind and solar space with a 76 per cent market share in 2018 with the remaining share with Independent power producers.
