The Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has recorded a 5.6 per cent increase in the amount of electricity generated through its hydropower stations.
According to a recent report by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), the total installed hydro capacity of the Gitaru, Kindaruma, Kamburu, and Kiambere power stations currently stands at 826 megawatts (MW).
This exceed Kengen's 581-Megawatt hour (MWh) monthly projections.
The stations are part of the Seven Forks cascade which forms a crucial component of KenGen’s power generation infrastructure.
KenGen Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rebecca Miano said that the numbers indicated the company’s commitment, through their renewable energy sources, to meet the growing demand for electricity by Kenyans.
“We are committed to ensuring a steady and reliable supply of competitively priced energy to support Kenya’s economy. We are doing this by accelerating the deployment of renewable energy sources such as hydro, geothermal, wind, and solar,” Miano said.
Additionally, the report noted that Kenya’s demand for electricity this week had risen to an all-time high of 2,036 MW, the highest since March 2020.
KenGen further recorded a new energy gross demand peak of 36,381 MWh that was mostly drawn from renewable energy sources.
Miano added that the numbers meant the company was committed to joining the Kenyan government in the fight against climate change.
President Uhuru Kenyatta, during his visit to Glasgow for the Climate Change Conference (COP26), said that Kenya was aiming to transition to clean energy by the year 2030, in order to reduce carbon emissions from the energy sector.
He noted that renewable energy currently accounts for 73 percent of Kenya’s installed power generation capacity while 90 percent of electricity in use is from green sources among them geothermal, wind, solar and hydro-electric installations.