The government has moved to clarify the country’s power situation following President William Ruto’s remarks that Kenya has been forced to carry out load shedding in some areas between 5pm and 10pm.
Speaking on Tuesday, November 11, Kenya Power Managing Director and CEO Joseph Siror acknowledged that while Kenya occasionally experiences power constraints, the country’s overall electricity generation remains sufficient to meet demand.
“Yes, it is true that once in a while because of breakdowns and because of the intermittent nature of solar or wind we can have a slight constraint. But over and above, we do have adequate power within the country but the reserves are normally very thin,” he said.
Siror further explained that power supply during the day is generally stable, with challenges only arising during evening peak hours when demand surges.
“In terms of attracting the investors, it is very good for me to state that during the day we have adequate generation and it’s only that window between 6pm to 10pm which we are addressing and I think the PS has addressed that, but again after 10pm we have too much power available,” he added.
On his part, Energy Principal Secretary Alex Wachira admitted that Kenya currently lacks a backup power generation that can be instantly deployed to stabilize the grid when renewable output dips.
“We don’t have a spinning reserve, what is a spinning reserve? Spinning reserve is, in case we have a plant that is put in case today Lake Turkana has low output, we do not have a plant that can be able to inject instantly, to ensure that we do not load shed.
“So we survive very well on days when we have good wind output, but on days when we have bad wind output in the country we do not have enough firm capacity that can power our peak power demand,” he explained.
Wachira reiterated the need for Kenya to diversify its energy mix and invest in more reliable power sources to meet industrial and household needs during peak hours.
“We need to increase, we need to look at LNG, we need to look at nuclear power plants, we need to look at high grand falls dams so that we can be able to industrialise as a country,” he added.
Speaking in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday, November 4, Ruto suggested that Kenya is currently experiencing a daily power shortage, forcing the government to carry out load shedding.
He explained that the country’s energy demand between evening hours has outpaced current generation capacity.
“Today in Kenya, between 5 pm and 10 pm, we have to do load-shedding, we have to shut some areas so as to be able to power other areas because our energy is not enough,” he said.
Additionally, Ruto disclosed that the government’s plan to set up data centers has stalled due to insufficient electricity capacity.
He explained that one data center requires 1,000 megawatts, yet the whole country has 2,300 megawatts.
Ruto joked that setting up a single data center would require shutting down half of the country’s electricity supply.
“When I went to the United States, we signed an agreement between G42 of the UAE, Microsoft of America, and Kenya to establish data centers.
“When I got back home, we were told that one data center requires 1,000 megawatts, yet the entire country only produces 2,300 megawatts. So, to set up one data center, we would have to shut down half the country,” he said.
Ruto emphasized that the country needs to generate at least 10,000 megawatts in order to be industrialized.
“If we have to industrialize, if we have to engage in manufacturing, we need a minimum of 10,000 megawatts and we need it like yesterday,” he added.
