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Kenya’s most expensive Muhoroni thermal power plant back on grid
Cabinet Secretary of Energy and Petroleum James Opiyo Wandayi (right) addressing the media during his tour of Muhoroni Gas Turbine (GT) Power Plant in Kipsitet on October 5, 2024.
The government has reconnected the Muhoroni Gas Turbine (GT) plant owned by KenGen to the national grid after more than a year of closure, signalling the country’s desperation for sufficient power supply.
Official data from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) shows that the plant--which produces the most expensive power in the country--generated 688,650 kilowatt hours (kWh) in November, marking its first month of operation since it resumed generation.
KenGen said the 60-megawatt (MW) Muhoroni-based power plant resumed generation after its interim power purchase agreement (PPA) with Kenya Power was extended.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) listed company, however, says negotiations are still ongoing for the renewal of the plant’s PPA. Muhoroni GT’s expired PPA used to be the most expensive.
Before the decades-old contract expired, the plant supplied electricity to Kenya Power at a cost of Sh56.73 per unit, the highest of any plant.
“Only the interim PPA was extended. Discussions are ongoing,” said a spokesperson for the company.
Muhoroni GT’s PPA with Kenya Power expired on April 30, 2023. However, KenGen was issued with a temporary extension of the PPA, allowing the plant to continue generating for three more months until June 30, 2023.
It was subsequently shut down.
However, the government has recently sought the renewal of the PPA to stabilise the power supply in western Kenya, which had been affected by the plant’s closure.
The western region currently does not enjoy supply from the country’s main power generation hub at Olkaria in Naivasha due to the absence of a high-capacity transmission line.
This means that the region relies on supply from small hydros and Uganda to meet demand.
The closure of Muhoroni GT, one of the country’s main thermal power plants, led to a significant drop in production of thermal power. Official data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows thermal power output dropped to 815.58 million kWh in the nine months to September 2024 compared to 1,127.63 million units during the same period last year.
The return of the plant will help stabilise supply to the western Kenya, which has been the subject to significant power cuts due to rationing by Kenya Power. However, it will increase electricity prices as the cost of running the plant is factored in consumers’ bills.