Kenyans Set to Pay Less for Electricity from November

 Dreams of cheaper electricity could become a reality for many Kenyans this November as Kenya renegotiates its Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Uganda.

Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter told the Sunday Nation that the PPA with Uganda, signed in 2014, will be revised downwards from the current Sh22 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to Sh14, a relief that will be passed down to consumers.

The Ministry of Energy has also lined up various investments meant to harvest cheaper energy into the grid while retiring the expensive thermal plants in a major drive for affordable power from June 2019.

By June, the 105MW Olkaria geothermal plant is expected to start contributing to the national grid. Another 83MW plant is expected to be completed shortly after to boost the country’s fast pace towards greener and cheaper power.

Preference for geothermal is underpinned by the fact that it is a renewable energy source, environmentally friendly and with relatively low generation tariffs.

Further, it is not subject to the vagaries of weather changes, making it a preferred base load for power-supply stability.

Currently Kenya imports from Uganda and the use of diesel-generated thermal plants are the biggest reasons for higher power tariffs.

Kenya also hopes to increase wind, solar and cogeneration in the production mix, with the contribution of wind rising from 12 percent to 14 percent in the next five years, ERC says. Power imports from Uganda, which had fallen to 7.6 million units in September 2018, rose to 15.2 in January 2019.