In going full blaze in pursuit of renewable energy, there can be no doubt that the government is pressing the right buttons.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is this morning expected to launch a 54.6 megawatt solar power plant in Garissa, an investment billed as one of the biggest such projects in East and Central Africa.
The switching on of this new source of electricity and its feeding into the national grid later this month opens a new front in power pricing. Kenya Power, the electricity distributor, pegs the power at Sh8 per kilowatt hour compared to thermal power’s Sh20 per kilowatt hour.
This is a cut of less than half of the expensive power, meaning huge savings for power consumers and the entire economy.
Just recently, Lake Turkana Wind Power announced the injection into the grid of up to 170MW offering consumers hope of a possible pricing relief.
As Mr Kenyatta commissions the Garissa plant, we urge him to categorically indicate how this shift to cheaper renewables will benefit the consumer, both homes and industries.
One of the elements that must grab his attention is the unchanging fuel-cost adjustment figures in the power bills at Sh2.50 despite the gradual retirement of the diesel power production. Affordable power should not be a mere promise; it should be seen and felt in the marketplace.
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