Kenya Power warns over-reliance on renewables is pushing up electricity costs
Kenya Power has called for a more balanced approach to onboarding variable renewable energy sources, warning that wind and solar intermittency is undermining grid reliability and driving up electricity costs.
The utility said VREs currently account for 34 percent of the energy mix during peak demand of 1,900MW, and 36 percent during low demand of 1,200MW.
This exposes the national grid to system vulnerability whenever wind and solar output suddenly dips or rises, the Company said.
Kenya Power is urging the prioritisation of grid stability and the consideration of additional costs required to supplement variable sources, to avoid outages and safeguard electricity pricing.
“Global benchmarks point to a limit of 15% of the grid’s total firm capacity limit for VRE. Our current system under the take or pay model of power purchase has led to an increase in VREs to over 20% against a recommended average of 15%,” said Kenya Power Managing Director and CEO Dr. (Eng.) Joseph Siror.
He said the intermittent nature of wind and solar leaves the Company with no option but to dispatch and pay for additional generators, raising the overall cost of power.
Dr. Siror said battery storage systems, often floated as a solution, face their own limitations. “They would still face a challenge in charging the batteries when the wind and solar dip. Therefore, investments in geothermal and hydro offer greater grid stability,” he said.
Kenya has the highest dependence on VREs within the Eastern Africa Power Pool. Egypt’s VRE quantum stands at 10.4 percent, Ethiopia’s at 5.3 percent, Uganda’s at 4 percent and Tanzania’s at 1.2 percent.
Kenya’s baseload power—geothermal, hydro, imports and thermal—currently makes up 80 percent of the grid’s energy mix. Kenya Power has called for increased baseload capacity to improve stability.
New baseload sources set for the grid include KenGen’s Olkaria 1 (61MW) and Olkaria 7 (80MW), Globeleq Menengai (35MW), Orpower 22 Menengai (35MW), Ethiopia power imports (200MW), Paka Silali (100MW) and Nabuyole (28MW).
Plans to raise the Masinga Dam level by 1.5 metres are expected to add 83GWh in annual output.
Additional projects in the pipeline include a proposed 300MW LNG power plant, the 700MW High Grand Falls project and the 90MW Karura Falls project.
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