KenGen PLC | |
Company type | Public Liability Company |
KN: KEGN | |
Industry | Electric power |
Founded | 1 February 1954 |
Founder | Government of Kenya |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Kenya |
Key people | Julius Migos Ogamba, Chairman of the Board of Directors Eng. Peter Njenga, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer |
Revenue | KSh.44.110 billion/= (30 June 2020) |
KSh.18.377 billion/= (30 June 2020) | |
Total assets | KSh.412.927 billion/= (30 June 2020) |
Total equity | KSh.211.318/= (30 June 2020) |
Owner | Government of Kenya |
Number of employees | 2,600 (17 November 2023) [1] |
Website | http://www.kengen.co.ke/ |
Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC [2] abbreviated to KenGen, is a government enterprise in the Republic of Kenya charged with the production of electricity for the country. KenGen is the largest electric power producer in Kenya, generating over 60% [1] of the electricity consumed in the country.
KenGen relies on various sources to generate electricity, ranging from hydropower, geothermal, thermal and wind, with hydropower being the leading source of electricity.
The company owns 30 hydropower plants with a combined capacity of 825.69 MW, four thermal power plants generating 256 MW, seven geothermal power plants with a generating capacity of 713.13 MW and one Wind power plant at Ngong producing 26 MW, for a combined generating capacity of 1,817.82 MW. [3]
Presently KenGen operates five major geothermal power plants with 12 installed units, namely: Olkaria I, Olkaria II, Olkaria I unit 4 and 5, Olkaria IV, Olkaria V. 16 wellhead plants with 21 installed units. [3]
The Olkaria geothermal power stations are located in Nakuru County within the Hell's Gate National Park bordering Lake Naivasha within the Great Rift Valley.
The company was founded on 1 February 1954 as the Kenya Power Company (KPC) and was commissioned to construct the transmission line between Nairobi and Tororo in Uganda. This was to transmit power generated at the Owen Falls Dam to Kenya. KPC was also tasked to develop electricity generating facilities in the country. [4]
KPC was managed by the Kenya Power and Lighting Company under a management contract. In January 1997, the management of KPC was formally separated from Kenya Power as a direct result of reforms being undertaken in the energy sector and the entire economy. [4] Subsequently, on 19 January 1998 the company changed its name from Kenya Power Company to Kenya Electricity Generating Company. The trading name KenGen PLC was also adopted at this point. [5]
In 2006, KenGen was listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange after the Government of Kenya sold 30 percent of its stake in the company through a successful initial public offering that received over 280,000 applications. [4]
KenGen currently has 6,594,522,339 shares. The stock of Kenya Electricity Generating Company is listed on the NSE, where it trades under the symbol: KEGN [3]
Rank | Name of Owner | Percentage Ownership |
---|---|---|
1 | Government of Kenya | 70.00 |
2 | Others | 30.00 |
Total | 100.00 | |
See also List of power stations in Kenya
The current capacity of KenGen's power stations are;
KenGen plans to increase it installed capacity to 721 megawatts by 2025.[ citation needed ]
This section needs to be updated.(December 2017) |
Mercury NZ Limited is a New Zealand electricity generation and multi-product utility retailer of electricity, gas, broadband and mobile telephone services. All the company's electricity generation is renewable. Mercury has a pre-paid electricity product sub-brand GLOBUG. Mercury Energy is also the largest electricity retailer in New Zealand.
The Kiambere Hydroelectric Power Station is an earth-filled embankment dam on the Tana River near Kiambere, Kenya. It straddles the border of Embu and Kitui Counties in the former Eastern Province. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and it supports a 165 MW power station. Construction on the dam began in 1983 and it was completed in 1987. The power station was commissioned in 1988. Beginning in 2008 both turbine-generators were upgraded from 72 MW to 82.5 MW. They were commissioned in 2009. US$95 million in funding for the original project was provided by the World Bank. The power station is operated by the Kenya Electricity Generating Company and is part of the Seven Forks Scheme.
The Olkaria I Geothermal Power Station, also known as Olkaria I Geothermal Power Plant is a geothermal power station in Kenya, with an installed capacity of 268.3 megawatts (359,800 hp).
Geothermal power is very cost-effective in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya, East Africa. As of 2023, Kenya has 891.8 MW of installed geothermal capacity. Kenya was the first African country to build geothermal energy sources. The Kenya Electricity Generating Company, which is 74% state-owned, has built several plants to exploit the Olkaria geothermal resource; Olkaria I, Olkaria II, Olkaria IV, Olkaria V, and Wellhead generation plants, with a third private plant Olkaria III. Additionally, a pilot wellhead plant of 2.5 MW has been commissioned at Eburru and two small scale plants have been built by the Oserian Development Company to power their rose farm facilities with a total of 4 MW.
The electricity sector in Sri Lanka has a national grid which is primarily powered by hydroelectric power and thermal power, with sources such as photovoltaics and wind power in early stages of deployment. Although potential sites are being identified, other power sources such as geothermal, nuclear, solar thermal and wave power are not used in the power generation process for the national grid.
The Olkaria III Geothermal Power Station, is a large geothermal power plant in Kenya, having an installed electricity generating capacity of 150 megawatts (200,000 hp).
Energy Development Corporation is the largest producer of geothermal energy in the Philippines and the second largest in the world. It is involved in alternative energy projects, including geothermal, hydroelectric and wind energy projects. The company was formerly owned by the Philippine National Oil Company, a state corporation owned by the Republic of the Philippines engaged in the exploration of resources, production of energy and distribution of power supply to smaller electricity distributor. EDC was privatized and acquired by the Lopez Group as part of its energy and power supply utility business units.
Ol Doinyo Eburru is an active complex of volcanoes in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya to the northwest of Lake Naivasha. It is being exploited for geothermal energy. Soysambu Conservancy is located to the north of the massif, between Lake Elmenteita to the east and Lake Nakuru to the west.
The Olkaria Area is a region located immediately to the south of Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya, Africa. It is geothermally active and is being used to generate clean electric power. The region has an estimated potential of 2,000 MW. This is almost double the maximum daily electricity peak demand recorded in 2008/2009 for the entire country.
This article describes energy and electricity production, consumption, import and export in Kenya. Kenya's current effective installed electricity capacity is 2,651 megawatts (MW), with peak demand of 1,912 MW, as of November 2019. At that time, demand was rising at a calculated rate of 3.6 percent annually, given that peak demand was 1,770 MW, at the beginning of 2018. Electricity supply is mostly generated by renewable sources with the majority coming from geothermal power and hydroelectricity.
Ngong Hills Wind Power Station, also Ngong Hills Wind Farm, is a wind-powered power station in Kenya.
Despite its high potential for wind energy generation, wind power in Kenya currently contributes only about 16 percent of the country's total electrical power. However, its share in energy production is increasing. Kenya Vision 2030 aims to generate 2,036 MW of wind power by 2030. To accomplish this goal, Kenya is developing numerous wind power generation centers and continues to rely on the nation's three major wind farms: the Lake Turkana Wind Power Station, the Kipeto Wind Power Station, and the Ngong Hills Wind Farm. While these wind power stations are beneficial to help offset fossil fuel usage and increase overall energy supply reliability in Kenya, project developments have also negatively impacted some indigenous communities and the parts of the environment surrounding the wind farms.
Most of Kenya's electricity is generated by renewable energy sources. Access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy is one of the 17 main goals of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Development of the energy sector is also critical to help Kenya achieve the goals in Kenya Vision 2030 to become a newly industrializing, middle-income country. With an installed power capacity of 2,819 MW, Kenya currently generates 826 MW hydroelectric power, 828 geothermal power, 749 MW thermal power, 331 MW wind power, and the rest from solar and biomass sources. Kenya is the largest geothermal energy producer in Africa and also has the largest wind farm on the continent. In March 2011, Kenya opened Africa's first carbon exchange to promote investments in renewable energy projects. Kenya has also been selected as a pilot country under the Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Programmes in Low Income Countries Programme to increase deployment of renewable energy solutions in low-income countries. Despite significant strides in renewable energy development, about a quarter of the Kenyan population still lacks access to electricity, necessitating policy changes to diversify the energy generation mix and promote public-private partnerships for financing renewable energy projects.
The Sondu Miriu Hydroelectric Power Station is a hydroelectric power station on the Sondu River in Kenya.
The Tana Hydroelectric Power Station is a 20 MW (27,000 hp) hydroelectric power station on the Tana River in southern Kenya.
The Olkaria V Geothermal Power Station, also known as the Olkaria V Geothermal Power Plant is a power station in Kenya, with an electric capacity of 158 megawatts (212,000 hp).
The Olkaria IV Geothermal Power Station is an operational geothermal power plant in Kenya, with installed capacity of 140 megawatts (190,000 hp).
Karura Hydroelectric Power Station, commonly referred to as Karura Power Station, also Karura Dam, is a planned 90 MW hydropower station in Kenya.
The Olkaria VI Geothermal Power Station, also known as the Olkaria VI Geothermal Power Plant, is a power station under construction in Kenya, with an electric capacity of 140 megawatts. The plant will be developed under a public private partnership (PPP) model, where the state-owned Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) will co-own the power station with a strategic partner.