Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC abbreviated to KenGen, is a

government enterprise A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

in the

Republic of Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

charged with the production of electricity for the country. KenGen is the largest electric power producer in Kenya, generating over 60% of the electricity consumed in the country.

Overview

KenGen relies on various sources to generate electricity, ranging from

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, converting the Pot ...

, geothermal, thermal and wind, with hydropower being the leading source of electricity. The company owns 30

hydropower plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

s with a combined capacity of 825.69 MW, four

thermal power plants A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy is converted to electrical energy. In a steam-generating cycle heat is used to boil water in a large pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam, which drives a steam ...

generating 256 MW, seven

geothermal power plants Geothermal power is electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 26 ...

with a generating capacity of 713.13 MW and one

Wind power plant A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gi ...

at Ngong producing 26 MW, for a combined generating capacity of 1,817.82 MW. Presently KenGen operates five major geothermal power plants with 12 installed units, namely: Olkaria I, Olkaria II, Olkaria I unit 4 and 5, Olkaria IV, Olkaria V. 16 wellhead plants with 21 installed units. The Olkaria geothermal power stations are located in

Nakuru Nakuru is a city in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and was formerly the capital of Rift Valley Province. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban and rural population of 570,674 inhabitant ...

County within the

Hell's Gate National Park Hell's Gate National Park lies south of Lake Naivasha in Kenya, north west of Nairobi. Hell's Gate National Park is named after a narrow break in the cliffs, once a tributary of a prehistoric lake that fed early humans in the Rift Valley. It wa ...

bordering

Lake Naivasha Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake in Kenya, outside the town of Naivasha in Nakuru County, which lies north west of Nairobi. It is part of the Great Rift Valley. The name derives from the local Maasai name ''Nai'posha'', meaning "rough wate ...

within the

Great Rift Valley The Great Rift Valley is a series of contiguous geographic trenches, approximately in total length, that runs from Lebanon in Asia to Mozambique in Southeast Africa. While the name continues in some usages, it is rarely used in geology as it i ...

History

The company was founded on 1 February 1954 as the Kenya Power Company (KPC) and was commissioned to construct the transmission line between

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

and

Tororo Tororo is a town in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Tororo District. History Tororo was garrisoned by the Uganda Army's Air and Sea Battalion during the Uganda–Tanzania War ( ...

in Uganda. This was to transmit power generated at the

Owen Falls Dam Nalubaale Power Station, formerly known as Owen Falls Dam, is a hydroelectric power station across the White Nile near its source at Lake Victoria in Uganda. ''Nalubaale'' is the Luganda name for Lake Victoria. Location The dam sits across t ...

to Kenya. KPC was also tasked to develop electricity generating facilities in the country. KPC was managed by the

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 ...

under a management contract. In January 1997, the management of KPC was formally separated from Kenya Power as a direct result of reforms being undertaken in the energy sector and the entire economy. Subsequently, on 19 January 1998 the company changed its name from Kenya Power Company to Kenya Electricity Generating Company. The trading name KenGen PLC was also adopted at this point. In 2006, KenGen was listed on the

Nairobi Securities Exchange The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was established in 1954 as the Nairobi Stock Exchange, based in Nairobi the capital of Kenya. It was a voluntary association of stockbrokers in the European community registered under the Societies Act in ...

after the Government of Kenya sold 30 percent of its stake in the company through a successful

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

that received over 280,000 applications.

Ownership

KenGen currently has 6,594,522,339 shares. The

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

of Kenya Electricity Generating Company is listed on the NSE, where it trades under the symbol: KEGN

List of power stations and installed capacity

Current capacity

The current capacity of KenGen's power stations are;

Hydroelectric

* Gitaru Hydro Power Plant – 225 MW *Gogo Hydro Power Plant – 2 MW, on the Gucha River * Kamburu Hydro Power Plant – 93 * Kiambere Hydro Power Plant – 169 MW *

Kindaruma Hydroelectric Power Station The Kindaruma Hydroelectric Power Station, also Kindaruma Dam is an embankment dam with two gravity dam sections on the Tana River in Kenya. It straddles the border of Embu and Machakos counties in Kenya. The primary purpose of the dam is hy ...

– 72 MW *

Masinga Hydroelectric Power Station Masinga Hydroelectric Power Station, also Masinga Dam, is an embankment dam on the Tana River, the longest river in Kenya. It straddles the border of Embu and Machakos Counties in Eastern Province and is located about 106 km. (66 mi. ...

– 40 MW *Mesco Hydro Power Plant – 0.43 MW *Sagana Hydro Power Plant – 1.5 MW *

Sondu Miriu Hydroelectric Power Station The Sondu Miriu Hydroelectric Power Station is a hydroelectric power station on the Sondu River in Kenya. Location The power station is located near the village of ''Kusa'' in Kisumu County, approximately , by road, southeast of Kisumu, the loca ...

– 60 MW *Sosiani Hydro Power Plant – 0.4 MW *

Tana Hydroelectric Power Station The Tana Hydroelectric Power Station is a hydroelectric power station on the Tana River in southern Kenya. Location Tana Hydroelectric Power Station is located in Muranga County, off the Nairobi- Embu Road, between Makuyu and Makutano, approx ...

– 20 MW *

Turkwel Hydro Power Plant The Turkwel Hydroelectric Power Station, also Turkwel Dam, is an arch dam on the Turkwel River about north of Kapenguria in West Pokot County, Kenya. The dam serves several purposes to include hydroelectric power production, irrigation tourism a ...

– 106 MW *

Wanjii Hydroelectric Power Station The Wanjii Hydroelectric Power Station is a hydroelectric power station in Kenya. Location The power station is located near the village of ''Kambirwa'', in Muranga County, approximately , by road, northeast of Nairobi, the capital and largest ...

– 7.4 MW

Geothermal

Olkaria I Geothermal Power Plant The Olkaria I Geothermal Power Station, also known as Olkaria I Geothermal Power Plant is a geothermal power station in Kenya, with an installed capacity of . Location The facility is located in the Hell's Gate National Park along with its si ...

- 45 MW *

Olkaria II Geothermal Power Plant The Olkaria II Geothermal Power Station also known as Olkaria II Geothermal Power Plant is a geothermal power plant in Kenya, with installed electric generating capacity of Location The facility is located in the Olkaria area, adjacent to Hel ...

- 105 MW *

Olkaria I AU Geothermal Power Station The Olkaria Area is a region located immediately to the south of Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, Great Rift Valley of Kenya, Africa. It is geothermal energy, geothermally active and is being used to generate clean electric power. Th ...

- 105 MW * Olkaria V Geothermal Plant- 172MW *Eburru Geothermal Power Plant – 2.4 MW * Wellhead Geothermal Power Plant (Olkaria)- 5.0 MW * Wellhead Generation – 70 MW (Well head 1, 20 MW, Well head 2, 20 MW, Well head 3, 30 MW)

Thermal

*Kipevu I Diesel – 60 MW *Kipevu III Diesel – 115 MW *Muhoroni Gas Turbine - 55 MW

Wind

* Ngong Hills Wind Power Station: Phase I – 5.1 MW * Ngong Hills Wind Power Station: Phase II – 20.4 MW

Future projects

KenGen plans to increase it installed capacity to 721 megawatts by 2025.

Geothermal

* Olkaria I Unit 6 – 70 MW – Completion Year: 2022 * Eburru Project – 25 MW – Completion Year: 2016 * Olkaria VI – 140 MW – Completion Year: 2016/17 * Olkaria VII – 140 MW – Completion Year: 2018 * Olkaria VIII – 140 MW – Completion Year: 2018

Wind

* Wind Power Station: Phase II – 300 MW – Completion Year: 2020

Lists

List of countries by electricity exports This is a list of countries by electricity exports mostly based on The World Factbook.List of countries by electricity imports This is a list of countries by electricity imports mostly based on The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-s ...

List of countries by electricity production This is a list of countries by annual electricity production. China is the world's largest electricity producing country, followed by the United States and India. __TOC__ Total production If possible, country links link to articles about the ele ...

References

External links

{{authority control Electric power companies of Kenya Government-owned companies of Kenya Energy companies established in 1954 Renewable resource companies established in 1954 1954 establishments in Kenya Companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange