The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), formerly the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is an independent regulatory authority responsible for technical and economic regulation of electricity, petroleum (Upstream, midstream and downstream) and

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

subsectors in Kenya.

History

The Electric Power Act of 1997 created the Electricity Regulatory Board (ERB) whose mandate was to regulate the electricity subsector in Kenya. Subsequent reforms in the energy sector informed the creation of the Energy Regulatory Commission through the promulgation of Energy Act No 12 of 2006 and revised in 2012. The Energy Act No 1 of 2019 repealed the Energy Act no 12 of 2006 allowing for the establishment of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority(EPRA) with and expanded mandate to regulate the entire energy sector.

Location

The offices of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority are located at the Eagle Africa Centre, Longonot Road,

Upper Hill, Nairobi Upper Hill is a neighbourhood of the city of Nairobi, the capital and largest city of Kenya. The district has seen an increase in major construction in recent years, with several multinational corporations setting up offices. Location Upper Hil ...

city.

Authority

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority regulates the

electric utilities An electric utility is a company in the electric power industry (often a public utility) that engages in electricity generation and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major pr ...

Petroleum industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The larges ...

and

Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

development in Kenya through the Energy Act of 2019. It carries out Licensing, Economic regulation, enforcement and compliance and complaints and dispute resolution.

Electric utilities

EPRA regulates several electric utilities;

Kenya Electricity Generating Company Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC abbreviated to KenGen, is a government enterprise in the Republic of Kenya charged with the production of electricity for the country. KenGen is the largest electric power producer in Kenya, generating ...

Geothermal Development Company The Geothermal Development Company (GDC) is a wholly owned parastatal of the Government of Kenya. It is mandated to execute surface geothermal development, including prospecting for, drilling, harnessing and selling geothermal energy to electri ...

Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited, commonly referred to as KETRACO, is a wholly-owned parastatal of the Government of Kenya which serves as the primary Transmission System Operator in the Republic of Kenya. Location The headquart ...

Kenya Power and Lighting Company Kenya Power and Lighting Company, commonly referred to as Kenya Power or shortened KPLC, is a public liability company which transmits, distributes and retails electricity to customers throughout Kenya. Location KPLC headquarters are at Stima P ...

, Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation, mini-grid operators and Independent Power Producers.

Petroleum utilities

EPRA regulates several Petroleum utilties;

Kenya Pipeline Company Kenya Pipeline Company (''KPC'') is a state corporation that has the responsibility of transporting, storing and delivering petroleum products to the consumers of Kenya by its pipeline system and oil depot network. Overview The Kenya Pipelin ...

, the

National Oil Corporation of Kenya The National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK), is a state corporation of Kenya founded by Act of Parliament in 1981, with a mandate of participating in all aspects of the Kenyan petroleum industry. The company was incorporated in 1981 and began o ...

and Oil Marketing Companies. It also regulates the upstream petroleum and the Coal development.

Members

The board of directors are appointed by the Cabinet secretary of Energy while the chairperson is appointed by the President of the Republic of

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for a term of three years except the chairperson of the board whose term is four years. The contract is subject to renewal for one more term. The 2022 chairperson is

Jackton Boma Ojwang Jackton Boma Ojwang is a Kenyan lawyer and a retired Associate justice of the Supreme Court of Kenya. Upon retiring from the Supreme Court, President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed him as chairperson of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EP ...

. The current board members are; Gordon .O. Kihalangwa, Andrew N. Kamau, Albert Mwenda, Mercy Muthoni Wambugu, Barnabas Ngeno, Daniel Ndonye, James Mbugua, Moses Mutuli, George Mwakule and Masini J. Ichwara.

Auxiliary institutions and allied agencies

* Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation * Nuclear Power and Energy Agency *

External links

Energy Regulation Centre of Excellence

References

{{authority control Energy regulatory authorities Energy markets Energy in Kenya 2019 establishments in Kenya Government agencies established in 2019