Kenya Power on Wednesday launched a major network upgrade and street lighting project in the coastal city of Mombasa. The street lighting project will include Mombasa’s Old Town at a cost of Sh45 million and will involve retrofitting of 500 existing High Pressure Sodium (HSP) lamps to Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps, replacing 5km of existing overhead streetlight conductors with aero-bundled cable conductors and the automation of the.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 10th September 2015

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) will publish new policy guidelines to regulate use of energy. According to the regulator, under the proposed guidelines, consumers who use electricity to boil at least 1,000 litres of water or more would be required to install solar panels, among a raft of other measures. ERC Director General Joe Ng'ang'a said the new initiative will help curb unnecessary power usage. Ng'ang'a said the policy will also help.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 10th September 2015

Construction works of the 80MW  Rusumo Falls hydropower project which is funded by the World Bank and the African Development Bank is set to begin next year. The construction project will be located at Rusumo Falls along Rwanda-Tanzania border . The announcement comes after the families who were living in the area were relocated.   “Holding other factors constant, the civil works should start in the first quarter of.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 9th September 2015

 The African Development Bank now says that it will focus more on efforts to construct more power facilities in Africa in a bid to tackle the chronic power shortages in the continent.  AfDB new president Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said that the move will help unlock Africa’s economic potential and end its vulnerability to fluctuations in commodity prices.   According to the International Energy Agency, Africa requires an.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 8th September 2015

 Kenyans will continue to shoulder the burden of expensive thermal generators for at least four more years, despite recent strides in unlocking cheaper sources of energy.   Data from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), which is the energy sector regulator, shows that the earliest the first of the nine thermal power plants could be knocked off from the national grid is 2019. This is in case it is not renegotiated as has been the.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 7th September 2015

 South Africa could tap into its natural gas reserves to expand its energy mix and support growth across the economy, recommended McKinsey Global Institute DualfreqGas-fired power plants could help make up for deficits in South Africa's power supply. (Image source: Dualfreq/WikimediaCommons) Gas-fired power generation alone could add US$12bn to South Africa’s GDP, estimated the McKinsey report titled South Africa’s Big Five:.... Read more »

Posted on : Saturday , 5th September 2015

As east Africa’s energy demands continue to raise, regional countries are looking to formulate a comprehensive policy on energy security and ease the conditions for investors in the sector. Speaking Monday at a meeting on policy framework in Kigali, Antonio Pedro the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), country director, said the absence of the policy has made countries lose out on opportunities and position themselves to.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 4th September 2015

 UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has decided to help African nations with the development of nuclear energy for electricity generation nuclearplant 12923 pixabayPlans for nuclear power generation are making headway in Kenya. (Image source: 12923/Pixabay) Several African countries have expressed interest in the peaceful development of nuclear power, according to IAEA senior advisor for policy and strategy Anne Starz,.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 3rd September 2015

 The government has leased 22 micro-power projects to private investors, a move aimed boosting the country’s power generation capacity.   The plants were leased to seven private power developers for 25 years, according to the Power Purchase and Concession Agreements signed between the companies and Ministry of Infrastructure, Rwanda Development Board and the Rwanda Energy Group on Thursday.   Speaking at the signing of.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 2nd September 2015

East African countries may soon emerge as global leaders in green energy, if efforts put by the various governments to exploit sources of renewable energy are attained.   Various stakeholders attending the East African Power Industry Convention (EAPIC) in Nairobi yesterday agreed that universal access to affordable energy could only be achieved by exploiting clean energy. Energy and Petroleum Principal Secretary Joseph Njoroge said the.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 31st August 2015

 Uganda’s 600MW Karuma hydropower plant is set to commence the construction of transmission power lines; this is after intec – GOPA-International Energy, a German energy consulting company agreed on a US$ 6.3m consultancy services contract.   Funding for the construction of the transmission lines at Karuma hydropower plant are from China’s Exim bank.   Eriasi Kiyemba, Uganda Electricity Transmission Company.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 31st August 2015

 The Kenya Electricity Generating Company, KenGen scored a double win at the inaugural East African Power Industry Awards in Nairobi on Thursday evening when the utility won the Outstanding Clean Power Award and also took top place in the Excellence in Power Generation category.   Other popular winners were Dr Albert Butare, former Energy Minister of Rwanda who won the Lifetime Achievement Award for East Africa, as well as H.E. Dr.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 31st August 2015