Kenya electricity generating company income grew by 11 percent from Sh24.7 billion in the six months to December 2021 to Sh27.5 billion in a similar period last year.
The improved performance was attributed to higher energy sales on increased geothermal production capacity at the recently commissioned 86 MW Olkaria I, which grew electricity unit sales from 4,006 GWh in 2021 to 4,200 GWh in the period ending December 2022.
KENGEN managing director Abraham Serem said the half-year results come on the heels of a prolonged drought that is one of the longest in recent history and has affected its hydro generation capacity due to the low water level.
“In previous years, we would be having serious scenarios of power rationing affecting the entire country at a time like now when the rains have failed,” said KenGen Ag. Managing Director and CEO Abraham Serem.
“Thanks to our geothermal-led strategy and investments in geothermal development over the years, we have been able to save the country from scenarios of power rationing as was the case in earlier years and we are confident that this growth will remain as we continue to work on stabilizing the national grid,” said Mr. Serem.
The NSE-listed company is on schedule to commence redevelopment of the 40-year-old 45 MW Olkaria I geothermal power plant to boost its capacity to 63 MW.
It includes upgrading Olkaria I, Additional Units 4 and 5, and Olkaria IV from the current combined 300 MW to 340 MW.