Kenya Power in deal to reduce energy losses

Last Updated 8 years ago by Kenya Engineer

Kenya Power seeks to cut down on electricity leakages through a two year project with International Finance Corporation (IFC). The KES80m project will be funded by both the World Bank private arm and the utility company each contributing 50 per cent of the budget.

Addressing staff and energy consultants during official IFC Organisation launch, Kenya Power MD Ken Tarus said in a statement “minimizing on energy losses is critical to the company as it translates to increased revenue hence improved profitability.”

He added “To help us achieve our single digit target, we have contracted the IFC’s energy & water advisory to implement loss reduction initiatives. These initiatives include support for both technical and commercial loss reduction, training, and management support.”

In June 2016, Kenya Power energy loss stood at 18.8 per cent which was an improvement from 19.4 per cent from the previous year.
Power losses below 15.9 per cent translate to efficiency earnings while the company absorbs losses when the rate stays above.  Records indicate that one percentage point in system losses is equivalent to sales of KES1bn.

Lastweek , the Energy Regulatory Commission announced the new pump prices  that saw petrol prices rise for the first time since June due to rise in petroleum imports costs.  Petrol is mostly consumed by private cars will cost Nairobi motorists Kshs 98.30 per litre at the pump from Kshs 96.08 while diesel is up by a shilling to Sh86.86.
Energy and transport costs play a vital role in measuring inflation, which rose to 8.04 per cent last month from 7.47 per cent in July