Kenya Power Scared For Its Future As Firms Switch To Solar

By Clinton Ochieng

Kenya Power is expected to feel the heat as more firms switch to solar to cut electricity bills. Barely a week ends without a company applying for a license to generate its power using solar.

The firms then sell the excess electricity to Kenya Power. The latest firm seeking to lower power bills is the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), which plans to install solar power generators in its 29 factories. This move is expected to help tea factories cut nearly 50 percent of their power bills.

KTDA joins a list of growing companies looking to tap into other electricity generating options mostly renewable to cut dependence on the Kenya Power grid as well as reduce their energy costs.

They include Kenya Breweries and East Africa Maltings, subsidiaries of East African Breweries, which in January this year said they were seeking regulatory approvals to set up three plants.

These include two solar power plants with the capacity to generate 9.3 megawatts (MW) at KBL’s Ruaraka plant and another solar plant at its Kisumu operation with a 2.4MW capacity.

Other entities that have commissioned solar power plants include Strathmore University, Kenya Ports Authority, Williamson Tea, Krystalline Salt, Two Rivers Mall, London Distillers, Garden City, Bidco, and Kapa Oil.

READ: Darkness At Kenya Power As Profits Drop By 91 Percent