Press Release

Nairobi, Thursday, March 2, 2023: Residents of Embu County have a reason to smile after Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) and Embu County Government today held bilateral talks and agreed to work together.
The talks which took place at the KenGen Head offices led by Embu Governor, H.E Cecily Mbarire, and KenGen’s Ag. Managing Director and CEO, Abraham Serem singled out various emergency-related projects and long-term initiatives to be implemented under an agreed partnership arrangement.

Key among the areas of concern discussed by the two parties was climate change, which the two reckoned had greatly affected both the operations of KenGen and the livelihoods of people living around the power installations across the country.
“KenGen is an important stakeholder to us and has been part of our community for many years, we are delighted to partner with you for the benefit of the people of Embu County even as you continue with your mandate to serve the people of Kenya,” said Governor Mbarire.
The Governor highlighted that as part of the drafting of the Embu County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) the country received views from the public including various recommendations on projects they would like to see implemented in the county.

“Our people appreciate your footprint in Embu County, CSR, and the various Community Projects you have implemented over the years,” said Governor Mbarire adding, “the situation on the ground now is dire because of the prolonged drought and that is why we are here to request you to do more to alleviate suffering and implement long-term projects that will uplift the living standards of our people.”
The Governor singled out water and electricity connections as top priorities in the county which she requested KenGen to convene a multidisciplinary committee to help address over the next three months.
For his part, Mr. Serem noted that KenGen was ready to work with the host Counties to implement development projects in line with the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility policy.

“Today we had a very fruitful meeting with the Embu County Governor, Her Excellency Hon. Cecily Mbarire where we explored areas of partnership with the County Government with an aim of improving the lives of Kenyans,” said Mr. Serem.
The NSE-listed company CEO underscored the important role that Embu County plays in the energy generation business, noting that it hosts some of the largest hydroelectric dams in the country, which KenGen uses to produce low-cost electricity for Kenyans.
He concluded by emphasizing that hydroelectricity had been the mainstay of power generation in Kenya for a long time having been the first big power stations to be constructed in the country. The CEO however noted that this was no longer the case saying that hydropower was greatly affected by weather vagaries and only becomes reliable during good rains.

“We have had four successive seasons where we received low inflows in our dams due to the prolonged drought but we have been able to implement a robust water management program to ensure that we still generate electricity using the available water,” said Mr. Serem.

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Nairobi, Wednesday, March 1, 2023, Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen) has reported a growth in total revenue of 11% to Ksh.27.5 billion for the six months ending December 31, 2022, from Ksh.24.7 billion in 2021.

The growth in revenue is attributed to higher energy sales due to increased geothermal production capacity, with the recently commissioned 86MW Olkaria I Additional Unit 6 geothermal power plant leading to growth in electricity unit sales from 4,006GWhs in 2021 to 4,200GWhs in the period ending December 2022.

The half-year results come against a prolonged drought which is one of the longest in recent history and KenGen says it has affected its hydro generation capacity due to the low water levels resulting from poor rains across successive seasons.

“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.

Mr. Serem however expressed confidence and satisfaction with the performance of the company during the period under review saying the company’s fundamentals were strong enough to support business growth into the future. He noted that the growth in revenue was a testament to the company's investment in renewable energy sources, particularly in geothermal power.

“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 forty-year-old 45MW Olkaria I geothermal power plant to boost its capacity to 63MW. This growth trajectory also includes upgrading of Olkaria I Additional Units 4 & 5 and Olkaria IV from the current combined 300MW to 340MW.

"We remain focused on our strategic initiatives, which include diversification of our revenue streams, innovation, and cost optimization. Today, our electricity is the most competitively priced and this has continued to cushion Kenyans from rising power prices,” said Mr. Serem adding, “We are confident that we will continue to deliver value to our shareholders and Kenyans going forward."

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Background information

About KenGen

Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC - KenGen is the leading electricity generation company in the Eastern Africa region with an installed generation capacity market share of more than 60%. The company’s primary business is to provide safe, reliable, and competitively priced electric energy for the country in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner while creating value for its stakeholders. Today, KenGen PLC has an installed generation capacity of 1,904MW, of which over 86% is drawn from green sources namely: Hydro (826MW), Geothermal (799MW), Thermal (253MW), and Wind (25.5MW).

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Nairobi, Wednesday, February 15, 2023: Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC(KenGen) has launched a food drive to the tune of Ksh.10 million targeting residents of nine counties in various parts of the country.

The food drive which targets contiguous communities in areas where the NSE-listed company operates electricity-generating power stations has been going on since November 2022 and seeks to alleviate the suffering of millions of families most affected by the prevailing drought.

According to the Ag. Managing Director and CEO, Abraham Serem, the food donations were targeted to marginalized communities and special interest groups including people living with disabilities, youth, children, and women saying they were hardest hit by the food crisis.

The nine counties targeted for the campaign include Machakos, Embu, Kilifi, Turkana, Nakuru, West Pokot, Migori, Kajiado, and Kitui where KenGen has an active presence as host counties of various power installations. Through the campaign, KenGen said it has distributed food rations to about 200 schools so far in a deliberate move to keep the students in schools.

The move comes against the backdrop of poor hydrology precipitated by five successive seasons of drought when the country received poor rainfalls leading to poor crop output and crop failure.

Speaking during the flag-off of the food donation caravans to various counties, Mr. Serem said the failure in rains had also affected most of the KenGen power generation plants which he said relied on water to produce electricity.

“Failure of the long and short rains in 2022 has greatly affected us in the hydropower stations where we have not been able to operate at full capacity due to low inflows of water in the large dams that feed our hydropower stations,” said Mr. Serem.

The CEO said the company had spent Ksh.10 million to provide relief food to ensure students have enough food to keep them in school as schools opened across the country after a long break.

“I want to commend KenGen for the good relations with the community, especially in efforts of water provision towards the community which was very scarce. I want to thank KenGen for the partnership they have had with both the County and National Government as well as the communities around them through their CSR program,” said Senator Mundingi.

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Note to Editor:

About KenGen

Today, KenGen PLC has an installed generation capacity of 1,904MW, of which over 86% is drawn from green sources namely: Hydro (826MW), Geothermal (799MW), Thermal (253MW), and Wind (25.5MW).

For media queries please contact:

Frank D. Ochieng, Tel:0721816896
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Olkaria – Naivasha, Wednesday, 22 February 2023: Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) today hosted the Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Mr. Thomas Östros at the Olkaria Geothermal Power Plant. The visit showcased the longstanding partnership between KenGen and EIB and explored potential areas of partnership for future collaboration. “The European Investment Bank is committed to accelerating renewable energy across Africa and has supported visionary geothermal investment by KenGen here at Olkaria over the last 41 years,” said Thomas Östros, Vice President of the European Investment Bank.

Mr. Östros described Olkaria as a model for renewable energy for the rest of the world which he said had embraced renewable energy helping to reduce the impact of global energy shocks in Kenya and reduce carbon emissions on a global scale. The visit comes at a time when Kenya is keen on deploying renewable energy as the country makes progress towards achieving a 100% transition to clean energy by the year 2030.

During the visit, the EIB Vice President was given a tour of the recently commissioned 86MW Olkaria I Additional Unit 6 Geothermal Power Plant that is currently supplying the nation with additional renewable energy.

The visit also provided an opportunity for both parties to explore potential areas of partnership mainly focusing on green energy projects which will not only help stabilize the electricity supply in Kenya but also help in the global climate action agenda. The EIB delegation was hosted by KenGen Ag. Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Abraham Serem who welcomed the visit by the Vice President of EIB and expressed gratitude for the support that EIB had provided to KenGen over the years which he said has gone a long way in putting Kenya on the global map as a renewable energy leader.

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Note to Editor:

About KenGen

For media queries please contact:

Frank D. Ochieng, Tel:0721816896
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Nairobi: January, 26th 2023: Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen) will pay a total of Ksh 1.32 billion in dividends to its shareholders for the year ending June 30, 2022. This was after the company posted a Ksh.4.7 billion profit after tax.

This follows an approval by shareholders of the KenGen Board’s recommendation for a first and final dividend payment of Ksh.0.20 for the year for every ordinary share of Ksh.2.50 at the company’s 70th Annual General Meeting (AGM).

The government, which owns 70% of the shares in the NSE-listed company is expected to receive approximately Ksh.924 million in the payout while the rest will go to the private individual and institutional shareholders.

The dividend payout goes to demonstrate KenGen’s strong growth and stability over the years anchored on its geothermal-led strategy and revenue diversification.

Speaking earlier today during the AGM, which was held virtually, General (Rtd) Samson Mwathethe, KenGen Board Chairman, noted that the company’s strong business fundamentals, innovation culture, and robust expansion strategy have continued to propel the company to profitability, thereby growing value for its shareholders year-on-year.

“Our business growth is firmly anchored on our energy generation expansion strategy. In the last financial year, this strategy saw the addition of 86MW Olkaria I Additional Unit 6 into the national grid,” he said, adding, “our diversification approach on different areas such as geothermal development also played a huge role in creating more value to our shareholders.”

KenGen Chairman further said: “During the period under review, we experienced challenges such as the prolonged drought that affected our hydro power stations. Thanks to our business model, we managed to have sufficient generation from other sources, mainly geothermal, which enabled us to report growth in profit after tax and stabilize Kenya’s energy supply.”

For his part, KenGen Acting Managing Director, and CEO Mr. Abraham Serem reiterated the Company’s 2023 priority focus areas which he said will be on new technologies to generate more electricity using the existing power plants.

“This year, we plan to leverage new technologies to rehabilitate our oldest geothermal power plant whose first unit was commissioned in 1981, the 45MW Olkaria I. This project seeks to give it a new lease of life and increase its generation capacity to about 63MW.”

At the same time, KenGen is looking forward to adding 305MW geothermal power projects consisting of 280MW from geothermal sources in Olkaria and 25MW from the Eburru geothermal field in the coming years. The construction of these projects will commence after getting the requisite approvals.

Further, the company is rolling out plans to up-rate the turbines for the Olkaria I Additional Units 4 and 5 and Olkaria IV power plants to increase their output by an additional 40MW in a wider plan to further increase Kenya’s energy supply and catalyze the country’s economic growth.

KenGen is also betting on diversification in geothermal consultancy and e-mobility development to drive its financial sustainability in both the current and coming financial years.

Ends…/
Notes to the Editor
About KenGen

Today, KenGen PLC has an installed generation capacity of 1,904MW, of which over 86% is drawn from green sources namely: Hydro (826MW), Geothermal (799MW), Thermal (253MW), and Wind (25.5MW).

For media queries please contact:

Frank D. Ochieng, Tel: 0721816896
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Nairobi, Wednesday, January 5, 2023: Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen) has announced a renewed plan to scale up the deployment of renewable energy in the country by adding an additional 3000MW.

This new campaign will be driven largely by deploying up to 2000MW drawn from geothermal and hydro sources as baseload power to stabilize the country’s energy sources thereby diversifying away from expensive thermal sources.

At the same time, KenGen which is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) says it has put in place plans to optimize the existing hydro sources even as it pushes for the development of new hydropower stations, and expansion of existing ones, particularly within the Tana River basin.

Speaking from KenGen’s Stima Plaza Headquarters in Nairobi, Ag. Managing Director and CEO, Abraham Serem said the company had revamped its corporate strategy and rolled out a 10-year strategy that seeks to add 3,000MW within the next 10 years. He further added that the company will be seeking to rehabilitate its existing power plants to make them mor efficient for sustainable generation.

“The Board approved a ten-year corporate strategy last year and we are now ready to roll it out in this new year 2023 having developed a robust implementation plan to lead us in the next frontier of our business growth,” said Mr. Serem.

Mr. Serem added that KenGen would be looking to tap into the vast potential of geothermal energy in the Rift Valley region, which is estimated to be about 10,000MW of clean and renewable energy.

“So far we have only exploited about 0.9GW of the 10GW geothermal potential and that is why a huge chunk of the additional capacity will be drawn from geothermal,” said Mr. Serem adding, “Our focus going forward is to secure the baseload capacity to stabilize Kenya’s energy supply mainly from green renewable energy.”

The Ag. CEO of KenGen singled out the upcoming 305 MW geothermal projects, with 280 MW coming from Olkaria and 25 MW from the Eburru geothermal power plant, for which he said construction would commence immediately after getting the requisite approvals.

In addition, the NSE-listed company plans to leverage on new technology to rehabilitate its oldest geothermal power plant, the 45MW Olkaria I to give it a new life and increase its generation capacity to more than 60MW.

“We will also be rolling out plans to up-rate the turbines for the Olkaria I additional units 4 and 5 and Olkaria IV power plants to increase their output by an additional 40MW,” said Mr. Serem adding that all this was part of the wider plan to stabilize Kenya’s energy supply and catalyze the country’s economic growth.

On the Western side of the Country, KenGen has announced plans to rehabilitate its Gogo hydropower plant to increase its capacity by about 8MW from the current 2MW. This is expected to contribute to the stability of the power supply in the western region.

“Going forward, we will be seeking to enlist new drilling fields for geothermal after successful drilling expeditions in the existing fields,” said Mr. Serem adding, “the acquisition of new fields will be one of the major initiatives for us in the new year as we seek to take advantage of the 10GW geothermal potential in the country.”

At the same time, KenGen says it will continue with its commercial drilling projects in the Horn of Africa namely Ethiopia and Djibouti where the company has drilled several geothermal wells with the latest one being the first of three wells successfully completed in November 2022 at Gale le Koma geothermal site in Djibouti.

“We are happy to see our teams deliver the same level of success in other countries as we do here at home in Olkaria where we have also drilled more than 320 geothermal wells to depths of 3,000 meters,” said Mr. Serem adding, ‘In geothermal drilling, successful drilling of the first well is a major milestone as it gives the engineers and scientists more insights of the terrain to inform the drilling of the successive wells.”.

The Ag. CEO went on to state: “We are also deliberately increasing our efficiencies in power plant Operations and Maintenance by training our staff to upskill and re-tool them to competently manage our existing power plants and also seek to give support to other organizations and countries in the region should the need arise.”

Also in the new year, KenGen is looking to roll out an E-mobility campaign aimed at leading Kenya’s transition from gasoline-powered vehicles to Electric Vehicles (EV) as another way of combating climate change while solving transportation challenges in the country.

The project, which was launched in November 2022, when KenGen unveiled its first four Electric Vehicles (EVs) in Nairobi is part of the company’s diversification ambitions in the e-mobility sector.

The four vehicles, which include two SUVs and two double-cabin pickups are primarily being used for data collection and policy development as the company prepares to install over 30 EV charging stations across the country in 2023. KenGen says preliminary results of the pilot so far are encouraging.

The venture is part of the NSE-listed company’s environmental and economic sustainability plan to reduce global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by inspiring confidence for wider EV adoption across the country. The company will use the cost and environmental data from the four EVs to transition its fleet to EVs, further demonstrating KenGen’s role in elevating its position on attracting investment funds financing green initiatives.

Ends.
Notes to the Editor
About KenGen

Today, KenGen PLC has an installed generation capacity of 1,904MW, of which over 86% is drawn from green sources namely: Hydro (826MW), Geothermal (799MW), Thermal (253MW), and Wind (25.5MW).

For media queries please contact:

Frank D. Ochieng, Tel: 0721816896

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.