Bamburi Cement adopts solar power to reduce energy bill 10pc

What you need to know:

The government recently gazetted a 15 percent cut on electricity tariffs in a bid to address the high power bills.
Construction of Bamburi’s solar power plant will begin at the end of this year after requisite regulatory approvals and the project is expected to be completed within a year.

Bamburi Cement #ticker:BAMB plans to source a portion of its power supply from solar plants in a bid to cut costs and reduce the impact of electricity outages in the main grid.

The company said it has signed a power purchase agreement with MOMNAI Energy Limited to set up two solar plants adjacent to its Mombasa and Nairobi factories.

The independent power producer will set up the plants with Bamburi buying directly from it.

The company targets to generate 14.5 megawatts at Bamburi’s Mombasa plant and five megawatts at the Nairobi factory.

This will account for 40 percent of Bamburi’s total power supply.

The partial shift to solar is expected to cut the Nairobi Securities Exchange #ticker:NSE -listed firm’s electricity bill by 10 percent or over Sh600 million per annum.

It spent Sh6.04 billion in 2020 on electricity and alternative energy sources such as rice husks and other waste materials like tyres and oil in its operations.

Bamburi will be the next major manufacturer to shift to solar after East Africa Breweries Plc (EABL) last year announced a Sh22 billion investment plan in renewable energy.

“We are elated to be making this step towards switching to more affordable and clean energy that will not only lead to a significant reduction in power costs but also bring us closer to our goal of achieving Net Zero carbon emissions,” said Miriam Ngolo, Bamburi’s strategy and business development director.

The move comes at a time when more consumers are ditching the national electricity distributor Kenya Power following an outcry over high bills and erratic supply.

The government recently gazetted a 15 percent cut on electricity tariffs in a bid to address the high power bills. Large commercial users got Sh2.5 cut per unit during peak hours and Sh1.25 during off-peak.

Construction of Bamburi’s solar power plant will begin at the end of this year after requisite regulatory approvals and the project is expected to be completed within a year.

***Updated