Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen) has reported a growth in total revenue of 11% to Ksh.27.5 billion for the six months ending December 31, 2022, from Ksh.24.7 billion in 2021.
The growth in revenue is attributed to higher energy sales due to increased geothermal production capacity, with the recently commissioned 86MW Olkaria I Additional Unit 6 geothermal power plant leading to growth in electricity unit sales from 4,006GWhs in 2021 to 4,200GWhs in the period ending December 2022.
The half-year results come against a prolonged drought which is one of the longest in recent history, and KenGen says it has affected its hydro generation capacity due to the low water levels resulting from poor rains across successive seasons.
"In previous years, we would be having serious scenarios of power rationing affecting the entire country at a time like now when the rains have failed," said KenGen Ag. Managing Director and CEO Abraham Serem.
Mr. Serem, however, expressed confidence and satisfaction with the performance of the company during the period under review, saying the company's fundamentals were strong enough to support business growth into the future. He noted that the growth in revenue was a testament to the company's investment in renewable energy sources, particularly in geothermal power.
"Thanks to our geothermal-led strategy and investments in geothermal development over the years, we have been able to save the country from scenarios of power rationing as was the case in earlier years, and we are confident that this growth will remain as we continue to work on stabilizing the national grid," said Mr. Serem.
The NSE-listed company is on schedule to commence redevelopment of the forty-year-old 45MW Olkaria I geothermal power plant to boost its capacity to 63MW. This growth trajectory also includes upgrading Olkaria I Additional Units 4 & 5 and Olkaria IV from the current combined 300MW to 340MW.
"We remain focused on our strategic initiatives, which include diversification of our revenue streams, innovation, and cost optimization. Today, our electricity is the most competitively priced, and this has continued to cushion Kenyans from rising power prices," said Mr. Serem adding, "We are confident that we will continue to deliver value to our shareholders and Kenyans going forward."
For more information:
KenGen
www.kengen.co.ke