Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) is behind more than half of the electricity powering homes and businesses across the country, fresh data from the energy regulator shows
According to the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), KenGen contributes over 57% of Kenya’s daily electricity, almost entirely through renewable energy, a record-breaking demand.
KenGen’s geothermal stations cranked out 13,678 MWh, while its hydropower dams added another 10,915 MWh to the national grid. At Kiambere alone, turbines spun up 2,908 MWh, with Gitaru, Kamburu and Masinga pitching in to keep lights glowing from Mombasa to Kitale.
“Our job is simple: give Kenyans reliable, clean baseload power so homes stay lit and industries keep humming,” said KenGen CEO Peter Njenga. “That’s why, over the next ten years, we’re targeting an extra 1,500 MW all from geothermal, hydro, wind and solar.”On that busy day, Kenya’s total power thirst hit 42,943 MWh.
Thermal plants, wind farms and imports from Ethiopia and Uganda helped fill the gap but it was KenGen’s steady renewable energy backbone that prevented rolling blackouts and wild price swings.
Behind the scenes, the company is warning that growing connections from cellphone towers in Turkana to tea factories in Kericho are stretching old transmission lines to the limit.
According to Njenga, an upgrade can’t come soon enough if Kenya hopes to keep pace with its development.
Today, KenGen boasts 1,786 MW of installed capacity, more than 93 percent sourced from renewables: 826 MW of hydro, 754 MW of geothermal and 25.5 MW of wind. And as the country electrifies faster than ever, those numbers are only set to climb one green kilowatt at a time.
