Zeddy Sambu
3 February 2010
New fuel suppliers for emergency power generators are being sought to forestall a power crisis whose stability is pegged on the resumption of the March-May long rains.
The country's main power producer KenGen has issued the tenders for supplies to the generators in Embakasi, Nairobi, with a capacity of 90 megawatts.
Aggreko's plant contract ended on December 31, but the firm will continue operating for the next two months pending conclusion of a new tendering process, according to the Energy permanent secretary Patrick Nyoike.
That decision to extend the services of the British emergency power firm followed a recent assessment of supply recommending that Aggreko continue generation.
Another extension is pegged on failure of the expected March-May rains.
The UK- based company currently generates 230 megawatts of thermal power or one fifth of the country's total of the interconnected capacity of 1,523 megawatts under two rolling contracts, one of which expires in March and the other in November, this year.
The Aggreko contract is estimated to be worth approximately $100 million (about Sh8 billion) over a year. But the temporary power supply contracts have exit clauses in anticipation of dams filling to capacity.
On Tuesday, KenGen said generation from the cheaper hydro sources at the country's main reservoir -- the Seven Forks Cascade -- is still precarious since the main reservoirs were yet to fill up.
"We have gained water considerably but the catchments are yet to yield much output. We are hoping to sustain current generation levels till the long rains," said Mr Mike Njeru, KenGen's corporate communications manager. "Today we are at 1,044.5 metres. We are still 10 metres short of maximum generation," he said.
Last December, KenGen reopened a section of a 40-megawatt power generation unit at Masinga Dam after a six month closure after water levels at Masinga climbed by 14 metres.
However, these volumes could only support generation from one of the dam's two units with the optimal target of 1,056 metres.
Masinga, which relays water to four other dams --Kamburu, Kiambere, Gitaru and Kindaruma -- is one of the Seven Forks dams, which together produce 47 per cent of the country's electricity supply.
In the past six months, the lower- than-expected rains have forced the Energy Ministry to extend contracts for Aggreko thrice, dampening earlier hopes that electricity bills would ease.
Current generation mix stands at 7 19MW hydro, 163 MW geothermal, and 407 MW thermal power-including 290 MW capacity of emergency producers.
The real demand estimated at 1,135 MW against peak demand of 1,107 such units.