Kenya Power’s Partnership With KAM to Lower Manufacturers’ Energy Costs

Kenya Power has renewed its commitment to partner with the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) to carry out regular energy audits among manufacturers to maximise production efficiency. The move is meant to encourage the growth of the manufacturing sector. It will lower the cost of manufacturing which will in turn reduce the price of locally manufactured products and ultimately encourage more investments in the critical sector.

In addition to the energy audits, Kenya Power has also committed to provide least cost energy to industries by optimizing the energy mix and investing in expanding and strengthening of the distribution network to improve the quality and reliability of power supply. “The company recognizes efforts made by KAM in championing energy efficiency. initiatives among its members and we are keen on partnering in keeping costs low.

We aim at providing least cost energy to our industries by deferring non-effective commitments for intermittent renewables and introduce flexible generation in the mix,” said Kenya Power’s managing director and chief executive officer, Dr. Ken Tarus.

He was speaking at the Kenya Sustainable Energy day CEOs’ forum organised by KAM. Dr. Tarus added that the company will continue updating and automating its infrastructure to increase access to electricity for socio-economic transformation and achievement of the national government’s big four agenda.

“The company is committed to dispatching more renewable energy to maintain the fuel cost charge low and retail tariff competitive. I believe that with the available opportunities, we will be able to work together to make Kenya a manufacturing hub for Africa,” he further said.

In the last five years, the distribution network has expanded in size and capacity as a result of various projects the company has undertaken. Kenya Power is currently operating 79,001 kilometres of high and medium voltage lines compared to 49,818 kilometres that were in place in 2013.

Similarly, the length of the distribution lines has increased from 110,778 kilometres in 2015 to the current 148,724 kilometres, while the capacity of distribution substations has grown from 5,878MVA in 2013 to 9,203MVA as at the end of the last financial year.

Kenya Power is currently undertaking the Kshs.13 billion Nairobi underground cabling project which is aimed at improving power supply around the city and its environs. The project involves installation of underground cables and construction of a substation at the city centre that will serve customers around industrial area and its environs.

The company has also upgraded 36 substations and installed smart metres to large power customers at a cost of $562 million which it has funded with the support of the World Bank under the Kenya Electricity Modernization Project (KEMP), among other projects. The continued investments have led to a general improvement in the perfor