Fernandes Barasa, Ketraco’s chief manager of Finance and Accounts, is taking over from the agency’s first MD who is set to retire next month after completing his two terms of three years each since September 2009. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Fernandes Barasa is also the chairman of Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK).
State-backed Ketraco is in charge of constructing and maintaining high-voltage transmission lines of above 132 kilovolts (kV), with Kenya Power handling lower voltage lines.
The outgoing MD Joel Kiilu is credited with expanding the country’s electricity transmission infrastructure in line with the government’s agenda of adding 5,000 megawatts to the grid by end of 2017.
The board of Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) has named an acting managing director to replace the agency’s founding boss Joel Kiilu.
Fernandes Barasa, Ketraco’s chief manager of Finance and Accounts, is taking over from the agency’s first MD who is set to retire next month after completing his two terms of three years each since September 2009.
Mr Barasa is also the chairman of Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK).
“He has a wealth of experience in public finance and risk management, change management and corporate governance,” Ketraco said in a statement.
The new acting MD holds a degree in Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) and MBA in Finance from Kenyatta University alongside being a lead auditor and a certified public accountant of Kenya (CPA-K).
State-backed Ketraco is in charge of constructing and maintaining high-voltage transmission lines of above 132 kilovolts (kV), with Kenya Power handling lower voltage lines.
Prior to joining Ketraco, Mr Barasa worked as a Treasury manager and later as head of factories accounts at Kenya Tea Development Agency Limited. He has also worked for Kenya Airways and East Africa Re in senior management positions.
The outgoing MD is credited with expanding the country’s electricity transmission infrastructure in line with the government’s agenda of adding 5,000 megawatts to the grid by end of 2017.
Mr Kiilu oversaw the installation of 756km of transmission lines to evacuate power to remote, off-grid areas including large parts of Garissa and Lamu.
Multiple other projects are ongoing with the intention of constructing over 4,000km in the next four years at a cost of Sh131.4 billion, including the 428km, 400kV Mombasa-Nairobi line.
The projects are set to interconnect the region and form a power pool among Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda, critical for reliability and lower cost.
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