THE government will spend Sh11 billion on rural electrification programmes this year. The plan aims to connect more than 1 million households, primary schools, markets and other public facilities to the power grid. Rural Electrification Authority chairman Simon Gicharu said the government has provided enough funding. "By the end of 2015 we will have achieved our target. This will completely turn around the economy," he.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 3rd September 2014

 Two local firms, Gulf Energy Limited and Centum Investment Company Limited, have successfully won the bid for construction of the Lamu coal plant. The power plant is going to be constructed at a cost of US$2bn in Mombasa, Kenya. US$500m to be used in construction will be provided by equity fund, and the balance will be funded through debt. Once complete, the plant is expected to add up to 960MW of electricity to Kenya’s national.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 3rd September 2014

 A consortium led by two Kenyan firms won a government tender to build a 1 000-MW, coal-fired power plant, company officials said on Tuesday, part of moves to satisfy rising demand for energy in East Africa's biggest economy.Kenya suffers from regular blackouts due to supply shortfalls and an aging grid, forcing most businesses and wealthy people to have stand-by generators. Businesses cite frequent power outages as a barrier to economic.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 3rd September 2014

 Kenya's wind energy capacity is considerable; the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has estimated it could reach 3,000 Megawatts (MW), more than double the current national demand. Northern districts like Turkana and Marsabit have the greatest potential, and wind farm construction here is proceeding apace. A Dutch consortium, the Lake Turkana Wind Power Company (LTWC) has leased 70,000 hectares for construction of a 380 turbine.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 2nd September 2014

 KENYA Power is working with various financial institutions to give loans that will assist people to pay for new connections.   The firm's managing director Ben Chumo said it already has deals with locals banks such as National Bank, Jamii Bora bank, Equity bank and its own Stima loan for the connections.   Chumo said the move will help the potential customers especially in rural areas to access affordable loans for new.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 2nd September 2014

 Kenya and Tanzania are to float a tender in September for the construction of a transmission line capable of transferring 2,400MW of electricity.   The 400 kilovolt high voltage overhead transmission line is expected to cover about 510 kilometres from Isinya in southern Kenya to Singida in central Tanzania.   The Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) acting chief manager of planning and construction, Anthony.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 1st September 2014

 Africa has the potential to be a leader in the energy storage space, says Basil Read Energy director, Ian Curry. “We have to go for this distributed power generation solution, [while] accommodating storage. Storage is a technology and an industry that is coming into maturity and Africa has the opportunity to lead in that space because we’re starting from a relatively blank page.” There are many different views on the.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 28th August 2014

 Kenya has invited bids for construction of two new geothermal plants as part of the country's plan to boost electricity production by 5000MW in three years. The new plants, with a capacity of 60MW, will be completed by the end of 2014 and is part of several projects designed to tap into Kenya 10,000 MW geothermal power potential, according to Oxford Business Group's most recent economic update on energy.    According to a.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 28th August 2014

 The federal government has borrowed a total of $1.9bn (N300 billion), as part of electricity transmission expansion capacity.   The funding came from various sources as part of the target to meet the 20,000mw transmission capacity in the year 2020, records indicated.   Daily Trust gathered that so far $4 billion (N647.6bn) was generated by government out of the $16 billion (N2.6 trillion) target to achieve the 20,000.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 27th August 2014

  Ngaka — THE government has been assured that Ngaka coal mine reserves can serve the country for more than 100 years producing 300KW of power and other commercial needs.   Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral, Mr Eliakim Maswi, was told that the projection was drawn from the 423-million tonnes of coal resources the mine has.   Tancoal Chief Operating Officer, Tarn Brereton said on Monday that there.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 27th August 2014

Nine energy transmission projects valued at above US$4bn have been identified in the Southern Africa region for promotion and marketing. These nine projects are in different stages of development according to the report released in the 34th Summit of SADC in Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. The projects include the Flagship ZizaBona interconnector project which will be implemented by Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia. There is also the Central.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 25th August 2014

 SUPPRESSED electricity demand in the country can be resolved by ensuring that there is additional generation capacity using acceptable technologies and fuel which is naturally available to Tanzanians.     This was said by Mr Harbinder Singh Sethi, the Executive Chairman of Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL) a subsidiary of Pan African Power Solutions (PAP) during a media tour at the Company's power plant in Tegeta area.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 25th August 2014