Wednesday, November 6, 2024 – Kenya is about to become a country of blackouts. This is after Kenya Power warned of an increased number of national blackouts as it grapples with regional power shortages.
This year, the country has faced
an increasing number of national power blackouts and this looks set
to continue as Kenya’s growing independence on imported electricity from
Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania brings a risk of load shedding.
This, according to Kenya Power
CEO Joseph Siror, means that the countries we rely on for power are set to
focus on their own needs.
“Letting a very critical part of
your country be controlled by an outsider is not something you want,” the CEO
noted.
“If their hydro goes down, the
first they disconnect is not themselves- it is us. It is a delicate
environment.”
Although the power imports make
up a small portion of Kenya’s total electricity usage, it is crucial in
stabilizing the grid, especially when intermittent sources like wind and solar
cannot fill the void left by reduced hydro generation during droughts.
All three countries exporting
power to Kenya rely on hydropower generation, given their massive capacity
compared to Nairobi.
“Last year, Ethiopia could not
supply the contracted capacity because their hydrology was low. We had to load
shed the country by 280MW,” Siror intimated.
Kenya buys 200MW from Ethiopia
through a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA). There is also an option to
gradually increase this amount in 2026.
The local power lender had hoped
to double Ethiopia’s electricity imports by the end of this year but these
plans have seemingly been dropped.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
.jpg)
0 Comments