Power Production Expected To Drop In Cost

According to Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir, cost of production is expected to come down drastically with manufacturers being the biggest winners.

"We expect the country to be saving USD500m annually due to the drop in the cost of power which has been one of the difficulties facing development" he said.

Chirchir noted that consumers were already feeling the effects of the drop in power tariffs which was part of the government promise.

He said that in September power tariffs dropped by 11% adding that this had risen to 28% in October.

The CS attributed the drop in the cost of power to the shift from diesel to geothermal energy which is cheaper and reliable.

"Geothermal accounts for 41% of the total power pumped to the national grid in the last couple of months" he said.

Chirchir said that of the 5,000mw expected in the national grid in 40 months 1,600mw would come from geothermal power.

"Kenya just like other African countries suffers from lack of sufficient and cheap power but we are committed to addressing this," he said.

The CS was speaking in Lake Naivasha Country Club in Naivasha during the opening of a short course on geothermal exploration. 

During the function, the MD GDC Dr Silas Simiyu said that they had used USD6B in steam field development in Menengai Nakuru.

Simiyu said that the power generation company was seeking an extra USD350m towards geothermal development in Silale Baringo and Suswa.

On his part, Professor Ludvik Georsson from United Nations University identified Olkaria Naivasha as one of the best geothermal fields in the world.

He praised the move to venture into Menengai in geothermal drilling noting that the country had high potential to tap into clean energy.

By Bonareri Samaha