Shaping the future of Kenya’s Power Sector

The reliability of Kenya’s power system has been a pressing issue for decades. Many people remember the severe droughts of the 1990s when the electricity supply system – which depended heavily on hydro – became virtually paralyzed. Though the supply has improved since then, many pressing issues remain as the power sector is quickly expanding.

Lahmeyer International has been assigned by Kenya’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum to support the planning for a stronger electricity sector. Working in close cooperation with the sector’s key stakeholders, the Lahmeyer team produced a comprehensive master plan that defines strategic solutions for the various challenges faced by consumers and electrical utilities in the country.

For instance, the master plan examines the inclusion of abundant domestic renewable energy sources, and allows for a range of future developments such as demand and hydrology, leading to an electrical sector that is much less dependent on hydro and fossil fuels and an improved quality and security of power supply. The master plan is considered a vital planning blueprint for the future of Kenya’s power sector.

In November 2017 – one year after the master plan was completed – the ministry (supported by the World Bank) contracted further trainings from Lahmeyer, including analyses of the current status of the power sector. This highlights the importance of the plan, its approach and the planning tools which have been tailored by Lahmeyer International to the Kenyan power sector.

Members of the Planning Team including planners from all utility companies of the Kenyan power sector, chaired by David Kariuki of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)