Tripled Power Imports Attributed to Low Hydro Outputs

In order to make up for declining hydro dam production, Kenya’s electricity imports nearly tripled in the eight months leading up to August compared to the same period last year.

According to data from Kenya Power, the nation imported 594.01 million kWh of electricity during that time, up 185 percent from 208.47 million kWh during the same period last year.

In the midst of a severe drought that forced the country to increase imports, electricity production from the nation’s dams fell 21 percent to 2,094 million kWh in the eight months to August compared to a comparable period previous year.

“We have water level problems and we may be forced to push other forms of power generation to meet the country’s power demand,” Energy Cabinet secretary Davies Chirchir had warned.

The data reveals that Ethiopian imports made up 70% of the 594.01 kWh imported in the eight months, up from 3.78 million kWh imported in a same time the previous year before a new agreement went into effect in November.

175.31 million kWh were imported from Uganda during the reviewed period, down from 204.71 million kWh imported during the same time last year.

The increase in Ethiopian imports underlines the importance of the agreement signed last year to buy cheap electricity from the country in the Horn of Africa.

In an effort to reduce its reliance on costly thermal facilities and provide reserve capacity for peak demand, Kenya began importing energy from Ethiopia in November of last year under a 25-year agreement.

In accordance with the agreement, Kenya would purchase electricity for five years at 6.5 US cents per kilowatt, after which it will be entitled to adjust the pricing.

The Ethiopian agreement was crucial since it came at a time when Kenya was suffering from a protracted drought that reduced the water levels in the nation’s hydroelectric plants, including the Sondu-Miriu in western Kenya and the Seven Forks Dams on the Tana River.