Nairobi, Monday, May 8, 2023: Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) is angling to add 40MW of geothermal energy to the grid after the German Chancellor launched an uprating project of KenGen’s Olkaria I Additional Unit 4, 5, and Olkaria IV geothermal power plants.
The project which is expected to take a period of 28 months seeks to increase capacity of two power stations from the current combided total of 300MW to 340MW. The additional 40MW will not only scale up geothermal energy but also cushion Kenyans against the rising cost of power.
The announcement was made during German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's state visit to Kenya as he toured the KenGen Olkaria geothermal field on Saturday. The 340MW geothermal uprating project has been financed by the German government and will entail the replacement of existing turbine rotor with new-designed blades, which will add 10MW to each unit of Olkaria I Additional Unit 4, 5, and two units of the Olkaria IV power plants, amounting to additional 40MW.
The German Chancellor said Olkaria is an expression of Kenya’s strong leadership in climate protection and a testimony of Germany and Kenya’s cooperation.
“Kenya and German have entered a climate and development partnership to support Kenya in reaching a 100% renewable energy and to support the country’s adaptation to climate change,” the Chancellor Scholz said.
He hinted that geothermal power can be used for green hydrogen production to aid local production of fertilisers which will help Kenya establish new revenues as well as cut cost of production to support growth of local agribusiness.
Accompanying the German Chancellor was Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Energy and Petroleum Davis Chirchir, who underscored the need to spur economic growth through the development of green energy which he said would lower the cost of electricity in the country.
Speaking at the event, KenGen Ag. Managing Director and CEO, Abraham Serem, said that KenGen’s geothermal journey has been made possible through the support of Germany’s KfW in collaboration with other development partners.
Kenya is ranked at position seven globally in geothermal exploration and development, out of which over 90% is generated by KenGen. So far, the company has drilled more than 320 geothermal wells within the Olkaria field, establishing a robust, sustainable footprint in Kenya, and has made inroads in several African countries such as Ethiopia, and Djibouti.
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Note to Editor:
About KenGen
Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC - KenGen is the leading electricity generation company in the Eastern Africa region with an installed generation capacity market share of more than 60%. The company’s primary business is to provide safe, reliable, and competitively priced electric energy for the country in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner while creating value for its stakeholders.
Today, KenGen PLC has an installed generation capacity of 1,904MW, of which over 86% is drawn from green sources, namely: Hydro (826MW), Geothermal (799MW), Thermal (253MW), and Wind (25.5MW).
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MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
REF: KENGEN/MD&CEO/01/04/2023
Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen) is the leading power generating Company in East Africa with a vision to be the market leader in provision of reliable, safe, quality and competitively priced electric energy in the Eastern Africa region. Through it geothermal-led strategy, the company has also grown over the years and has now diversified its geothermal drilling services beyond the Kenyan borders. In order to drive the KenGen’s development and guide it towards long-term success, this is to invite applications from suitable individuals to fill the position of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
Nairobi, Thursday, March 2, 2023: Residents of Embu County have a reason to smile after Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) and Embu County Government today held bilateral talks and agreed to work together.
The talks which took place at the KenGen Head offices led by Embu Governor, H.E Cecily Mbarire, and KenGen’s Ag. Managing Director and CEO, Abraham Serem singled out various emergency-related projects and long-term initiatives to be implemented under an agreed partnership arrangement.
Key among the areas of concern discussed by the two parties was climate change, which the two reckoned had greatly affected both the operations of KenGen and the livelihoods of people living around the power installations across the country.
“KenGen is an important stakeholder to us and has been part of our community for many years, we are delighted to partner with you for the benefit of the people of Embu County even as you continue with your mandate to serve the people of Kenya,” said Governor Mbarire.
The Governor highlighted that as part of the drafting of the Embu County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) the country received views from the public including various recommendations on projects they would like to see implemented in the county.
“Our people appreciate your footprint in Embu County, CSR, and the various Community Projects you have implemented over the years,” said Governor Mbarire adding, “the situation on the ground now is dire because of the prolonged drought and that is why we are here to request you to do more to alleviate suffering and implement long-term projects that will uplift the living standards of our people.”
The Governor singled out water and electricity connections as top priorities in the county which she requested KenGen to convene a multidisciplinary committee to help address over the next three months.
For his part, Mr. Serem noted that KenGen was ready to work with the host Counties to implement development projects in line with the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility policy.
“Today we had a very fruitful meeting with the Embu County Governor, Her Excellency Hon. Cecily Mbarire where we explored areas of partnership with the County Government with an aim of improving the lives of Kenyans,” said Mr. Serem.
The NSE-listed company CEO underscored the important role that Embu County plays in the energy generation business, noting that it hosts some of the largest hydroelectric dams in the country, which KenGen uses to produce low-cost electricity for Kenyans.
He concluded by emphasizing that hydroelectricity had been the mainstay of power generation in Kenya for a long time having been the first big power stations to be constructed in the country. The CEO however noted that this was no longer the case saying that hydropower was greatly affected by weather vagaries and only becomes reliable during good rains.
“We have had four successive seasons where we received low inflows in our dams due to the prolonged drought but we have been able to implement a robust water management program to ensure that we still generate electricity using the available water,” said Mr. Serem.
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Nairobi, Wednesday, March 1, 2023, Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen) has reported a growth in total revenue of 11% to Ksh.27.5 billion for the six months ending December 31, 2022, from Ksh.24.7 billion in 2021.
The growth in revenue is attributed to higher energy sales due to increased geothermal production capacity, with the recently commissioned 86MW Olkaria I Additional Unit 6 geothermal power plant leading to growth in electricity unit sales from 4,006GWhs in 2021 to 4,200GWhs in the period ending December 2022.
The half-year results come against a prolonged drought which is one of the longest in recent history and KenGen says it has affected its hydro generation capacity due to the low water levels resulting from poor rains across successive seasons.
“In previous years, we would be having serious scenarios of power rationing affecting the entire country at a time like now when the rains have failed,” said KenGen Ag. Managing Director and CEO, Abraham Serem.
Mr. Serem however expressed confidence and satisfaction with the performance of the company during the period under review saying the company’s fundamentals were strong enough to support business growth into the future. He noted that the growth in revenue was a testament to the company's investment in renewable energy sources, particularly in geothermal power.
“Thanks to our geothermal-led strategy and investments in geothermal development over the years, we have been able to save the country from scenarios of power rationing as was the case in earlier years and we are confident that this growth will remain as we continue to work on stabilizing the national grid,” said Mr. Serem.
The NSE-listed company is on schedule to commence redevelopment of the forty-year-old 45MW Olkaria I geothermal power plant to boost its capacity to 63MW. This growth trajectory also includes upgrading of Olkaria I Additional Units 4 & 5 and Olkaria IV from the current combined 300MW to 340MW.
"We remain focused on our strategic initiatives, which include diversification of our revenue streams, innovation, and cost optimization. Today, our electricity is the most competitively priced and this has continued to cushion Kenyans from rising power prices,” said Mr. Serem adding, “We are confident that we will continue to deliver value to our shareholders and Kenyans going forward."
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Background information
About KenGen
Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC - KenGen is the leading electricity generation company in the Eastern Africa region with an installed generation capacity market share of more than 60%. The company’s primary business is to provide safe, reliable, and competitively priced electric energy for the country in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner while creating value for its stakeholders. Today, KenGen PLC has an installed generation capacity of 1,904MW, of which over 86% is drawn from green sources namely: Hydro (826MW), Geothermal (799MW), Thermal (253MW), and Wind (25.5MW).
Press contacts.
Frank D. Ochieng, Tel: +254 0721816896
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Nairobi, Wednesday, February 15, 2023: Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC(KenGen) has launched a food drive to the tune of Ksh.10 million targeting residents of nine counties in various parts of the country.
The food drive which targets contiguous communities in areas where the NSE-listed company operates electricity-generating power stations has been going on since November 2022 and seeks to alleviate the suffering of millions of families most affected by the prevailing drought.
According to the Ag. Managing Director and CEO, Abraham Serem, the food donations were targeted to marginalized communities and special interest groups including people living with disabilities, youth, children, and women saying they were hardest hit by the food crisis.
The nine counties targeted for the campaign include Machakos, Embu, Kilifi, Turkana, Nakuru, West Pokot, Migori, Kajiado, and Kitui where KenGen has an active presence as host counties of various power installations. Through the campaign, KenGen said it has distributed food rations to about 200 schools so far in a deliberate move to keep the students in schools.
The move comes against the backdrop of poor hydrology precipitated by five successive seasons of drought when the country received poor rainfalls leading to poor crop output and crop failure.
Speaking during the flag-off of the food donation caravans to various counties, Mr. Serem said the failure in rains had also affected most of the KenGen power generation plants which he said relied on water to produce electricity.
“Failure of the long and short rains in 2022 has greatly affected us in the hydropower stations where we have not been able to operate at full capacity due to low inflows of water in the large dams that feed our hydropower stations,” said Mr. Serem.
The CEO said the company had spent Ksh.10 million to provide relief food to ensure students have enough food to keep them in school as schools opened across the country after a long break.
“I want to commend KenGen for the good relations with the community, especially in efforts of water provision towards the community which was very scarce. I want to thank KenGen for the partnership they have had with both the County and National Government as well as the communities around them through their CSR program,” said Senator Mundingi.
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Note to Editor:
About KenGen
Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC - KenGen is the leading electricity generation company in the Eastern Africa region with an installed generation capacity market share of more than 60%. The company’s primary business is to provide safe, reliable, and competitively priced electric energy for the country in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner while creating value for its stakeholders.
Today, KenGen PLC has an installed generation capacity of 1,904MW, of which over 86% is drawn from green sources namely: Hydro (826MW), Geothermal (799MW), Thermal (253MW), and Wind (25.5MW).
For media queries please contact:
Frank D. Ochieng, Tel:0721816896
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Olkaria – Naivasha, Wednesday, 22 February 2023: Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) today hosted the Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Mr. Thomas Östros at the Olkaria Geothermal Power Plant. The visit showcased the longstanding partnership between KenGen and EIB and explored potential areas of partnership for future collaboration. “The European Investment Bank is committed to accelerating renewable energy across Africa and has supported visionary geothermal investment by KenGen here at Olkaria over the last 41 years,” said Thomas Östros, Vice President of the European Investment Bank.
Mr. Östros described Olkaria as a model for renewable energy for the rest of the world which he said had embraced renewable energy helping to reduce the impact of global energy shocks in Kenya and reduce carbon emissions on a global scale. The visit comes at a time when Kenya is keen on deploying renewable energy as the country makes progress towards achieving a 100% transition to clean energy by the year 2030.
During the visit, the EIB Vice President was given a tour of the recently commissioned 86MW Olkaria I Additional Unit 6 Geothermal Power Plant that is currently supplying the nation with additional renewable energy.
The visit also provided an opportunity for both parties to explore potential areas of partnership mainly focusing on green energy projects which will not only help stabilize the electricity supply in Kenya but also help in the global climate action agenda. The EIB delegation was hosted by KenGen Ag. Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Abraham Serem who welcomed the visit by the Vice President of EIB and expressed gratitude for the support that EIB had provided to KenGen over the years which he said has gone a long way in putting Kenya on the global map as a renewable energy leader.
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Note to Editor:
About KenGen
Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC - KenGen is the leading electricity generation company in the Eastern Africa region with an installed generation capacity market share of more than 60%. The company’s primary business is to provide safe, reliable, and competitively priced electric energy for the country in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner while creating value for its stakeholders. Today, KenGen PLC has an installed generation capacity of 1,904MW, of which over 86% is drawn from green sources namely: Hydro (826MW), Geothermal (799MW), Thermal (253MW), and Wind (25.5MW).
For media queries please contact:
Frank D. Ochieng, Tel:0721816896
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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