Power producer KenGen has booked Sh440.34 million revenue from drilling geothermal wells in Ethiopia.
The earnings were booked by KenGen Ethiopia — a branch set up by KenGen in 2019 to facilitate the execution of commercial consultancy and drilling services contract signed with Tulu Moye Geothermal Operations.
The Sh440.34 million profit was reported by KenGen MD Rebecca Miano.
“The company enhanced its revenue diversification venture through drilling services in Tulu Moye, Ethiopia. The new venture has injected additional revenue of Sh440 million in the year,” said Ms Miano.
KenGen in 2019 won the Sh5.2 billion tender to drill geothermal wells in Ethiopia, marking the second such win in the landlocked country.
KenGen had also in February 2019 won part of a Sh7.6 billion contract to supply geothermal drilling services to the Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP).
Last February, the firm signed a Sh709 million contract to drill three geothermal wells in Djibouti. It is also eying similar deal in Rwanda.
Other projects in the pipeline include commercial treatment and bottling of drinking water following the commissioning of the Gitaru Water Drinking Plant and the KenGen Calibration Centre.
KenGen net profit for the financial year ended June 2020 jumped 133 per cent to Sh18.38 billion — the highest in the company’s history — on the increased output of cheaper geothermal and tax saving.
The electricity producer received a tax credit of Sh4.59 billion from the Kenya Revenue Authority during the period, in contrast with the preceding year when it had paid Sh3.79 billion.
KenGen controls 64 per cent of the electricity generation market share with an installed capacity of 1,803 megawatts.
