Jubilee Dev - Olkaria V 154MW Geothermal Power Project construction update

[Mediocre]

@GERALD9949

Do you even know what you are talking about???
Lawd!!
The ERC is the only entity that can set power prices.From the generators to the distributors.
Until 2016 we used the feed in tarrif to set power prices for power generators (we now use the auction system) then add the tariff that both KETRACO and Kenya Power need after the taxes and levies are added.
Many times Kenya Power(and Kengen) have asked for tariff raises and the ERC has refused.Which makes it clear who is setting the prices.

Do you think those prices are independent of KPLC monopoly. When other players come in, they will have to change just like they did with the ipps for kengen. If people would not have complained about 2017 do you think the prices would have stayed the same. Acha zako wewe, some of the people who have worked for ERC have a relationship with kplc. ERC isn’t as rosy as you paint to be.

I can tell you for a fact that KPLCs hegemony isn’t because of ERC’s independence. They have a very convoluted process of admitting ipps and other power players, leaves a lot of loopholes for corruption. I know companies that have been rejected for flimsy reasons and outdated policies. Unless you work there wewe ndio hujui kile unasema.

[Micymas]

@Mediocre

They’re a monopoly, their prices are too high and they decide how much power kengen and other ipps can generate, thereby putting a cap on the growth of power demand in the country.
Take the lamu 1000MW plant for instance. The kplc cronies at ERC give the excuse that we have excess demand to build it, so they downscale it. If there were other players, then they would be willing to buy power from that plant under the condition that manufacturers can be found.

A car manufacturing company has just come to Kenya and from their research they’ve established that it isn’t economical to build a plant because there’s not enough power and even if there is, it’s too expensive and unreliable. But a new power company approaches them and gives them a better tarrif than KPLC. Their power network is more reliable than KPLC. Only problem is they don’t exist because KPLC is a monopoly. It stifles development in the power industry.

Kenya is the only country that is hoping to become industrialized that has just one power distributor. In the US and other places where they actually develop, power is distributed per city or per region, depending on the number of homes in the area. This way, if a region wants to attract investment, it has to offer power at lower prices, which creates inter-region competition and lowers prices

[S_Lilly]

@GERALD9949

89% of all of our current geothermal capacity is owned by Kengen.So how???

It is a great risk to have one company monopolise all energy sectors, hydro, thermal, geothermal and wind technologies, it is bound to conspire to derail country wide development prospects with cost of energy. There is a need for a separate energy company, particularly in the geothermal sector due to its expansion potential. Government needs to have an energy investment portfolio in geothermal, oil and gas.

[Mediocre]

@S_Lilly

It is a great risk to have one company monopolise all energy sectors, hydro, thermal, geothermal and wind technologies, it is bound to conspire to derail country wide development prospects with cost of energy. There is a need for a separate energy company, particularly in the geothermal sector due to its expansion potential. Government needs to have an energy investment portfolio in geothermal, oil and gas.

Kengen doesn’t enjoy the kind of monopoly KPLC has. LTWP is a private company, geothermal orpower is also a private company and the numerous ipps are also private companies. KPLC on the other hand gets to decide how fast the country’s power demands grow. Right now they are saying ati because they are broke, they’ll not buy any more power. This undermines kengen and other power producers because nobody else can buy their power.

[S_Lilly]

@Mediocre

Kengen doesn’t enjoy the kind of monopoly KPLC has. LTWP is a private company, geothermal orpower is also a private company and the numerous ipps are also private companies. KPLC on the other hand gets to decide how fast the country’s power demands grow. Right now they are saying ati because they are broke, they’ll not buy any more power. This undermines kengen and other power producers because nobody else can buy their power.

A country of 40 million cannot realistically have one power generating company and one other electricity transmission and distribution company. There is need to diversify and also create additional jobs in the sector. Other companies such saccos can invest - buy power from kengen and distribute. There were long hours during the christmas period when there was no electricity, no radio, TV, the fridge turning on and off, light bulbs blowing off frequently, it doen’t make any sense really.

[spear]

Point of correction. Kenya power doesn’t have a monopoly to distribute power. There are many firms licensed to do the same. They however are the only one with a national coverage for the moment as the energy bill 2017 was yet to be signed as law by March 2018.

[SIZE=7]Kenya Power monopoly to end if energy bill is passed[/SIZE]
Feb. 16, 2018, 12:15 am
By VICTOR AMADALA @itsamadala
https://www.the-star.co.ke/sites/default/files/styles/new_full_content/public/950166.jpg?itok=gbTYMBTDKenya power workers working on power lines. /FILE

Kenya Power will lose its monopoly in electricity distribution and retail in the country if the amended Energy Bill tabled in the parliament is passed in its current form
The proposed Energy Bill 2017 want other distributors and retailers licensed in what is likely to end Kenya Power’s monopoly in the industry, promising homes and businesses a choice and better quality of service.

“A retail license authorises a person to supply electricity to consumers through a series of commercial activities including procuring the energy from other licensees, inspection of premises, metering, selling, billing and collecting revenue,” reads the Bill.
It also provides for sector regulators to set the minimum capital required to enter the power distribution and retail business. The plan is to restrict retail licensees to a particular area or areas stated in the license.
This is the second time the bill is coming to parliament after President Uhuru Kenyatta in October 2016 asked Mps to remove a clause that demanded Kenya Power to compensate customers for losses resulting from electricity blackouts.

By Aug 2018 10 firms had been licensed to compete with Kenya power. Kengen and other power producers with generate power. Ketraco has already completed the high power lines to 200 substations all over the country. Kenya power and others will now build their own lines from the substations to homes and businesses.

Kenya Power loses electricity monopoly status
Jul. 04, 2018, 12:15 am
By STEPHEN ASTARIKO @Stephen ASTARIKO
Energy Regulatory Commission director general Pavel Robert Oimeke at public forum in a Garissa hotel yesterday /STEPHEN ASTARIKO
Energy Regulatory Commission director general Pavel Robert Oimeke at public forum in a Garissa hotel yesterday /STEPHEN ASTARIKO

Companies interested in power generation and distribution will be licensed to improve supply and connectivity.

Energy Regulatory Commission director general Pavel Oimeke yesterday rejected claims the Kenya Power enjoys monopoly of distribution. He said the commission has licensed 10 operators to generate power for consumers.

“Any investor who wishes to generate and sell power to consumers or purchase from the generators and distribute will be licensed according to the law,” Oimeke said.

He said also dismissed media reports that they were planning to increase power tariffs. He said the claims were baseless.

[GERALD9949]

@S_Lilly

It is a great risk to have one company monopolise all energy sectors, hydro, thermal, geothermal and wind technologies, it is bound to conspire to derail country wide development prospects with cost of energy. There is a need for a separate energy company, particularly in the geothermal sector due to its expansion potential. Government needs to have an energy investment portfolio in geothermal, oil and gas.

The private companies ask for a higher tariff so no.
GDC only does exploration mostly though they can also generate using wellhead generators but that is still a GOK entity

[GERALD9949]

@Micymas

Kenya is the only country that is hoping to become industrialized that has just one power distributor. In the US and other places where they actually develop, power is distributed per city or per region, depending on the number of homes in the area. This way, if a region wants to attract investment, it has to offer power at lower prices, which creates inter-region competition and lowers prices

The US does not have two cities consuming over half the power consumption now does it???
Kenya Power would more accurately be the Nairobi and Mombasa power Company

[GERALD9949]

@Micymas

Kenya is the only country that is hoping to become industrialized that has just one power distributor. In the US and other places where they actually develop, power is distributed per city or per region, depending on the number of homes in the area. This way, if a region wants to attract investment, it has to offer power at lower prices, which creates inter-region competition and lowers prices

That has nothing to do with distribution but production.
Even if we had 100 distributors, the cost of power would be the same with the exception of distributors near a cheap power source.
Even if Nairobi had 5 distributors the cost would be the same because
1.Power prices are set by ERC
2.They would draw power from the very same sources.
It would be like the Petroleum sector.Different names same prices.
The only difference maybe would be customer service.
But also Nairobi will forever have Kenya Power.There is no wayleave for another distributor.
And they wouldn’t afford the wayleave cost anyway
Kenya Power got it free in Nairobi.

[GERALD9949]

@Mediocre

Do you think those prices are independent of KPLC monopoly. When other players come in, they will have to change just like they did with the ipps for kengen. If people would not have complained about 2017 do you think the prices would have stayed the same. Acha zako wewe, some of the people who have worked for ERC have a relationship with kplc. ERC isn’t as rosy as you paint to be.

I can tell you for a fact that KPLCs hegemony isn’t because of ERC’s independence. They have a very convoluted process of admitting ipps and other power players, leaves a lot of loopholes for corruption. I know companies that have been rejected for flimsy reasons and outdated policies. Unless you work there wewe ndio hujui kile unasema.

I worked for MOEP for a short time before P was moved to Mining.
Kenya Power has no leverage over ERC otherwise we would be paying 24 cents per kwh as they and kengen wanted.
Which loopholes pray tell???
The feed in tarrif system was simple.
There had to be a projected increase in demand in future for the power.If not then the application is not approved.
The feed in tariffs were fixed.If you did not like them then leave
The old loophole of tariff negotiation ended with LTWP.
Then the feed in tariff was replaced by the auction system.
The lowest price of generation wins.
Under the feed in tariff a solar power plant would supply KPLC with power at 12 cents, per kWh.
The last auction the only solar power plant that won proposed 8 cents.So Nope.
Kenya Power and ERC hawakutani mahali .

[GERALD9949]

@spear

Our current energy mix
[ATTACH=full]220313[/ATTACH]

Remember this changes from period to period.
For example wind drops between June and September.
Hydro drops from January declining until April when it rises and peaks in June just after the rains and stabilises at a point then drops a bit in August and September.
Geothermal generation stays the same but thw percentage is in relation to others so it fluctuates on that pie.
The extra capacity is filled by the diesel power stations like Kipevu,Thika,Triumph and Rabai.

[GERALD9949]

@Mediocre

A second power distributor doesn’t need new power lines, they can share where there are crowded. Japan does that very well. Just have parliament require KPLC to share them and of course get a fee for that.

When the monopoly was disbanded,Kenya Power was not obligated to share its infrastructure.
And if it ever happened, they would sabotage their competitors the way MTN Business used to be sabotaged by a certain ISP whose fiber they shared with until they were forced to just lay their own fiber network.

[GERALD9949]

@Mediocre

Do you think those prices are independent of KPLC monopoly. When other players come in, they will have to change just like they did with the ipps for kengen. If people would not have complained about 2017 do you think the prices would have stayed the same. Acha zako wewe, some of the people who have worked for ERC have a relationship with kplc. ERC isn’t as rosy as you paint to be.

I can tell you for a fact that KPLCs hegemony isn’t because of ERC’s independence. They have a very convoluted process of admitting ipps and other power players, leaves a lot of loopholes for corruption. I know companies that have been rejected for flimsy reasons and outdated policies. Unless you work there wewe ndio hujui kile unasema.

And the IPPs were not brought in to give Kengen competition.
Kengen has never faced any competition.
100%of kengen’s power is bought by Kenya power.The only IPP that enjoys such a guarantee is Lake Turkana Wind Power.
The others have to wait until all of Kengen’s power is consumed then they get their share.Quite often some of the IPPs lie idle,especially the ones around Nairobi like Triumph and Thika Power.
The only ones that work more than half thw time are Tsavo Power and the Muhoroni one I believe run by Aggreko.
The IPPs were not brought in to give Kengen competition.They first came in the 1999 and 2000 in response to the power rationing we had at that time and kengen’s dams were less than half full.

[spear]

@GERALD9949

And the IPPs were not brought in to give Kengen competition.
Kengen has never faced any competition.
100%of kengen’s power is bought by Kenya power.The only IPP that enjoys such a guarantee is Lake Turkana Wind Power.
The others have to wait until all of Kengen’s power is consumed then they get their share.Quite often some of the IPPs lie idle,especially the ones around Nairobi like Triumph and Thika Power.
The only ones that work more than half thw time are Tsavo Power and the Muhoroni one I believe run by Aggreko.
The IPPs were not brought in to give Kengen competition.They first came in the 1999 and 2000 in response to the power rationing we had at that time and kengen’s dams were less than half full.

Muhoroni IPP was switched off when the high capacity line from olkaria finally reached Kisumu. Its owned by Aggreko but Kengen was subcontracted to manage it fully. Its now been converted to a cheaper gas plant but will remain only as a backup emergency power plant. Western Kenya is also getting a high capacity power line from Turkwel directly to replace its aged transmission lines from Kisumu and Eldoret

[Mediocre]

@GERALD9949

When the monopoly was disbanded,Kenya Power was not obligated to share its infrastructure.
And if it ever happened, they would sabotage their competitors the way MTN Business used to be sabotaged by a certain ISP whose fiber they shared with until they were forced to just lay their own fiber network.

Then privatise it and have it share it’s lines where there’s no capacity for more. KPLC enjoys building lines on govt land, have it start paying for that like all private companies do and we’ll have real competition. That’s the real issue nobody wants to talk about. In some countries like Japan, they build several lines on the same pole or underground channel some of which have different power frequencies belonging to different companies, you get 50hz and 60hz lines running size by side. It’s not impossible, the govt just lacks political will. Nobody should have to sell to Kengen or KPLC because of govt laxity. The future of the power industry is moving away from a distributed grid to individual autonomous grids and if the govt can’t see that then we are losing out on the industrialization curve.