Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi
has announced plans to revive operations at the Muhoroni Gas Turbine Power
Plant in bid to address the power affecting Western Kenya and parts of Rift
Valley.
Wandayi noted that the plant, which is
crucial to the Western region’s power grid, has been down since June, 2023, due
to technical challenges.
The region, with an installed capacity
of 249MW, relies heavily on the facility for peak load balancing and grid
stability, especially during times of high demand or power shortfalls from
other plants.
Muhoroni GT is composed of two gas
turbines (GT1 and GT2), each with a 30MW capacity, for a total installed
capacity of 60MW.
"The non operation of this plant
therefore has a big impact definitely in the total generation capacity, because
60MW from 249MW, you see the impact is big," the CS noted.
The CS, during a fact finding mission
at the facility, explained that the ministry is working closely with
KenGen, the plant's operator, to revive it as a short term solution to the
ongoing outages.
"As you know this area, the
entire Southern Nyanza region and parts of Kericho and Bomet have had serious
power shortages for some time now. Our visit here today is to find out what we
can do in the shortest time possible to address this problem."
Wandayi highlighted ongoing
efforts to expand transmission infrastructure and build substations within
the region to curb persistent power outages.
The extension of transmission lines
includes Thurdibuoro to Ndiwa and Awendo to Isebania and another from Narok to
Bomet that will include a substation at Thurdibuoro.
"All this transmission
infrastructure projects once completed will go a long way in curbing the
perennial outages in this region," Wandayi said.
The CS added that they are optimistic
that the efforts, including the revival of the Muhoroni plant, will mitigate
the outages.
Kisumu Woman Representative, Ruth
Odinga, expressed support for the revival, emphasising its importance to local
factories that have been negatively impacted by fluctuating power supply.
"The 60 megawatts from this plant
will be key to stabilising production and it means more of our people will be
accommodated in the factories because now they will be operating at full
capacity,” she noted.
Muhoroni MP, Koyoo James, lauded the
government's efforts to restore reliable electricity supply in the larger
Nyanza region.
The Muhoroni Gas Turbine originally
installed in 1987, was relocated to Western Kenya in phases with GT1 arriving
in 2006 and GT2 in 2029.
In 2023, the Power Purchase Agreement
(PPA) for the Muhoroni Gas Turbines expired on April 30, 2023.
However, the plant continued being
dispatched until June 30, 2023, when a decision was made not to dispatch the
plant further.