Three key energy institutions get new leadership as Imbo, Busieney and Kinyua take charge

Last Updated 2 hours ago by Kenya Engineer

The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has announced new leadership for three of Kenya’s most important energy-sector institutions, with Tom Odhiambo Imbo appointed to head KETRACO, Stephen Kipsang Busieney taking over at GDC and Edward Mwirigi Kinyua appointed Director General of EPRA.

The appointments, announced by Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi on Wednesday, 30 September 2026, take effect immediately.

CPA Tom Odhiambo Imbo has been appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO), while Stephen Kipsang Busieney becomes Managing Director and CEO of the Geothermal Development Company Limited (GDC). Eng. Edward Mwirigi Kinyua has been appointed Director General of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).

According to the Ministry, the appointments followed recruitment processes undertaken by the respective boards of directors in accordance with applicable laws and human-resource guidelines.

The changes put new substantive leadership at institutions with responsibilities spanning some of the most critical parts of Kenya’s energy system.

Imbo moves from KETRACO’s finance function to the top job

Imbo is an established KETRACO executive, having served the transmission company for about a decade in finance and strategy functions. KETRACO’s profile identifies him as a finance-management professional with more than 19 years’ experience in the public and private sectors and notes that he previously served as the company’s General Manager for Finance.

His appointment comes as KETRACO continues to carry responsibility for planning, designing, constructing, owning, operating and maintaining Kenya’s high-voltage transmission network and regional power interconnectors.

The company’s transmission infrastructure forms the backbone of the national transmission grid, making its investment programme closely linked to the reliability, security and expansion of Kenya’s electricity system.

Busieney gets substantive mandate at GDC

At GDC, Stephen Kipsang Busieney moves into the Managing Director and CEO position after serving as Acting MD and CEO.

His appointment comes as Kenya’s geothermal sector enters another phase of expansion. GDC’s mandate includes geothermal resource assessment, exploration and drilling, development and management of steam fields, development of direct geothermal uses and facilitating private-sector participation in geothermal development.

GDC has also been expanding its development activities around the Menengai and Baringo-Silali geothermal areas. The company says it has been responsible for developing steam resources that have contributed to power generation connected to the national grid.

Busieney has been closely associated with GDC’s recent geothermal expansion. In June 2026, he wrote about Kenya’s milestone of surpassing 1,000 MW of installed geothermal generation, highlighting GDC’s role in exploration, drilling and de-risking geothermal investments.

Kinyua moves from petroleum and gas to lead EPRA

At EPRA, the appointment of Eng. Edward Mwirigi Kinyua brings an internal energy-sector specialist to the authority’s top executive position.

Kinyua was previously EPRA’s Director of Petroleum and Gas. According to his official EPRA profile, he has more than 14 years’ experience in the petroleum subsector, including experience at Total Kenya. He holds a Master of Science in Energy Management from the University of Nairobi and a Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical and Production Engineering from Moi University. He is also a registered professional engineer.

His move to the Director General’s office significantly broadens his responsibilities.

EPRA regulates the electricity, renewable energy, petroleum and coal sectors. Its functions include electricity licensing and regulation, petroleum regulation, tariff setting and review, consumer and investor protection, energy data management and enforcement of technical, safety and environmental requirements.

The regulator consequently sits at the intersection of several issues affecting both energy consumers and investors, including electricity tariffs, network regulation, petroleum pricing and supply, renewable-energy development and energy efficiency.

Three appointments, three critical parts of the energy system

The appointments create a notable alignment across three different but interconnected parts of Kenya’s energy infrastructure.

KETRACO is responsible for the transmission network, GDC for the development of geothermal resources, while EPRA provides economic and technical regulation across the energy and petroleum sectors.

The effectiveness of the three institutions is therefore interconnected. New generation capacity, for example, ultimately requires adequate transmission infrastructure, while both generation and transmission investments operate within a regulatory framework overseen by EPRA.

The Ministry said the new leadership is expected to support the government’s plans for the energy and petroleum sector.

For KETRACO, the immediate focus will include the continued development and strengthening of the transmission network. At GDC, the challenge is to accelerate geothermal resource development and translate Kenya’s substantial underground resource into additional reliable power and other direct uses. At EPRA, Kinyua takes charge of a regulator with a broad mandate covering both electricity and petroleum at a time when investment, energy costs, reliability and energy security remain central sector issues.

All three appointments take effect immediately.