Steam development behind schedule at Menengai, Kenya
Drilling crew at Menengai, Kenya (source: flickr/ GDC5000)
Alexander Richter
11 Kas 2014
Kenya's Geothermal Development Company said it will not be able to add 105 megawatts to the national grid by the end of the year as it was scheduled.
Local Kenyan news state that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s pledge to Kenyans for a 50 per cent reduction in the cost of electricity by next year may not materialise after the Geothermal Development Company said it will not be able to add 105 megawatts to the national grid by the end of the year.
A work plan by the company outlines the steps the government must take, beginning with commissioning and drilling, to inject 105 MW into the national grid by the end of December.
According to company, the setback is due to tendering delays, but insiders attribute it to the absence of steam.
The firm’s main project this year — the Menengai steam power generation — was to begin next month after three independent power producers were named.
But nothing has happened, and the company has said everything has been put on hold until November 2015.
The state agency blames the delay on prolonged negotiations between Kenya Power and independent power producers.
“The delay has been occasioned by the lengthy period it has taken before signing of power purchase agreements,” Geothermal Development Company chairman Faisal Abbas said Monday.
The same sources inform that last month, President Kenyatta commissioned the Olkaria IV power plant, which added 140Mw to the national grid.
“Take my word that the cost of goods will come down, and this will lead to a lower cost of living for all Kenyans,” President Uhuru pledged.
And on Thursday last week, Kenya Power announced it had signed a power purchase agreement with the three firms.
“In negotiations, you can’t blame any party. The financiers needed to do their background checks on these firms so they can get guarantees,” Kenya Power managing director Ben Chumo said.
“We signed on Thursday, and the agreement has now been forwarded to the regulator. The commercial operation date is now November 30, 2015.”
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Source: Daily Nation
