KenGen will connect a new 83.3 Megawatt (MW) power plant to the national grid before June, boosting efforts to provide affordable power to households and businesses.
The power producer said the plant at Olkaria was undergoing reliability tests with Kenya Power to pave the way for its linking to the national grid.
KenGen’s chief executive, Rebecca Miano, said that construction of the plant was complete.
“Construction of Olkaria I Unit 6 is aligned to the company’s long-term strategy and Kenya’s Least Cost Power Development Plan (LCPDP) focused on sustainable supply of renewable energy in support of the government’s Big Four Agenda,” Ms Miano said on Wednesday.
Construction of the plant started in December 2018 as Kenya embarked on efforts to generate affordable and clean power to spur economic growth.
Geothermal power accounted for 46.69 percent of its electricity as at June last year followed by hydro at 32.22 percent.
Linking of the new plant comes at a time the government is preparing the ground for another 15 percent cut in the cost of electricity in the next two months. The 15 percent cut in electricity tariffs is in line with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s promise to provide relief to consumers and businesses hurting from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The plant will increase Kenya’s installed geothermal power to 796MW from 713 MW, pushing up the share of KenGen’s geothermal installed capacity to 42 percent.
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