Kenya in fresh efforts to increase electricity supply

By Patrick Githinji

Efforts to increase the national power grid are gaining momentum. Now, the Ministry of Regional Development Authority has completed a feasibility study to generate hydro-electric power on Tana River in Marimanti in Eastern Province.

The project, dubbed the ‘High Grand Falls Dam’, is set to inject into the national grid 1200MW.

It is also intended to reduce power blackout that have been experienced in the past years, especially in 2009.

Power demand is estimated at 1100MW and is fast rising while the supply is slightly under this figure.

In an interview with Financial Journal ahead of the release of the study, PS Regional Development Authority Ministry Eng Carey Orege said on completion, the project will provide power to State projects in Lamu Port and Malili ICT Park.

"There is need to develop and diversify power sources to meet the expected growth demands for vision 2030," Eng Orege said.

Flood control

He says the main objective of the dam is to provide a large-scale multi-purpose water reservoir catering to public water supply, irrigation, river regulation, and flood control and power production in order to contribute to the regional and national social economic development.

Orege says the ministry has already obtained approval from National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and in the next three months, they will be embarking on a detailed design.

"After we are done with the detailed design, we will be able to advertise for tenders to source for construction fund."

Other issues the study has addressed include the resettlement programme for those living along the basin.

The project is expected to be funded to a tune of $1.5 billion and construction scheduled to begin mid this year.

According to Orege, the funding is expected to come from the Government, international development agencies as well as public-private partnership.

This will be the first mega project to start along the Tana River.

"Other dams will be constructed in Nandi Forest, Magwagwa, Arror and Mwache. Preparation of feasibility studies, design and tender documents have commenced," Orege says. The three have a combined capacity of 284MW.

It is touted that when complete, the High Grand Fall dam will increase food security, agribusinesses and agricultural processing, raise up to 180,000 ha irrigation potential and reduce the perennial problem of floods in the lower ridges of the river.

According to KenGen Managing Director Eddy Njoroge, Kenya must at least have 30-35 per cent increase in electricity supply by 2018 to achieve vision 2030.

The national energy capacity by 2030 is expected to have surpassed 17,764MW.

As part of the firm’s effort to contribute to the national grid, KenGen opened a wind farm in Ngong’ — a project that will inject 500MW in the next five years.

In December, KenGen signed a deal with a France-based company to fund geothermal projects in Olkaria 1 and 4.

Olkaria 1 is expected to increase its capacity from 45MW to 140MW by the end of 2013 while Olkaria 4 is expected to generate 140MW.

This comes as result of competition from the Independent Power Producers (IPP) who are currently injecting 347MW in the national grid.

Mumias Sugar Company is among the companies that have secured a contract to supply electricity to Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC).

The company commissioned a 38MW co-generation plant in May 2009, enabling it to increase the electricity generation capacity from bagasse from 13.5 to 38MW with 25 megawatts being fed into the national grid.

The company has also started trading in carbon credits in which it produces power through burning of bagasse, a position that reduces carbon emission as no oil, coal or gas is used in power generation.

Kenya is highly reliant on hydropower that account for 52 per cent, while thermal, geothermal and wind/bagasse accounts for 32 per cent, 14 per cent and 2 respectively.

Scaling up

Last week, China Exim Bank availed $90 million to buy five drilling rigs to tap steam reserves.

Addressing the media shortly after the signing of the agreement, Dr Silas Simiyu, the chief executive officer of Kenya’s state-run Geothermal Development Company, said the gear will probably be delivered in 2013.

The country is scaling up its search for underground steam deposits with a $2.6 billion 10-year plan to sink 566 wells at Olkaria, Menengai and Silali in the Great Rift Valley, where shifting tectonic plates provide a key source of energy.

Simiyu says the goal is to find enough steam to generate 2,336 megawatts of power by 2020 in a bid to ease dependency on the country’s main hydroelectric providers.

Kenya rationed power to homes and businesses between August and October 2009 after a drought depleted water evels in dams, hurting economic growth.

"Once the ramping up of geothermal development takes place, the issue of power shortages should cease to exist," Simiyu says.

In November, the Government acquired two drilling rigs China National Petroleum Corp at a cost of $35 million each.

Simiyu says with these rigs, GDC is expected to begin drilling this week at the central Menengai field, aiming to find sufficient reserves to feed a 400-megawatts into the national grid by 2014.