This archive report was first published on 8 December 2019.
As African economies evolve, the services sector is growing, and electricity has become a non-negotiable ingredient for businesses to operate efficiently. Without a stable supply, companies must juggle the logistics of generating electricity on site using expensive fuel, impacting their bottom line and hindering economic growth.
Kenya is in an interesting development phase with regards to its domestic energy requirements. In the past decade, the country has grappled with the challenge of unreliable, expensive, and unsustainable energy use, supporting a stagnating industrial and manufacturing base. This is due to aging energy infrastructure that can no longer meet the modern-day requirements as envisaged in the country's economic blueprint, Vision 2030.
According to the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco), the national power grid is being extended to every corner of the country, with a cumulative length of 16,100 km projected by 2030. A number of grid stabilization projects and extension lines are being put in place to ensure a continuous balance between supply and demand and also take care of the reserves that would be used in case of contingencies.
The Western bound Olkaria-Lessos-Kisumu transmission line project is one of the major undertakings that would be a game changer in the targeted region and play a pivotal role in the regional power pool upon completion. The line evacuates reliable geothermal power, which brings along numerous direct economic gains to the economy, including reduction of carbon emissions and environmental pollution.
As aging baseload fossil fuel plants retire nationally, geothermal plants can provide the electricity these plants have historically provided to the power system. Geothermal plants generally lack the fuel costs of other baseload sources, or the ancillary and transmission costs associated with variable energy resources, making them an ideal candidate to fill several roles historically performed by emission-heavy fossil fuels.
Once completed, the region's sugar sector, hospitality industry, transport, aviation, cotton, fishing, mining, construction, and health sectors are set to grow to their full capacities due to the abundance of reliable, efficient, and available power. This would spur serious economic turn-around with opportunities for employment and trade.
Join the Standard Digital Telegram channel HERE for the latest news.
