ENERGY
BY MAINA WARURU

Kenya will hold an a national energy conference next month to explore alternative sources of energy in view of rising costs of power and oil.

The National Energy Conference will take place at the on October 7-9 and will bring together government officials , local and international players in power and oil sectors, NGOs, community groups and ordinary citizens.

The conference the first of it’s kind in the country will seek to find new sources of cheaper energy, good and sustainable untilisation of available resources and brainstorm on the best ways to keep ever rising costs down.

For the first time biofuels now being produced by small community groups in rural Kenya will be given national attention, as will community initiatives to produce own hydro power without relying on national grid.

The conference will also tackle the question of nuclear energy an dependable source of power hardly used in Africa , but which Kenya is increasingly talking of exploring to meet it’s ever rising demand for power and it’s escalating costs.

The meeting to be opened in Nairobi by president Mwai Kibaki will be updated on progress so far made in oil and exploration in the country , in which the ministry of energy has spent hundreds of millions of shillings after contracting foreign firms to undertake the task.

Consumer groups and manufacturers are expected to take an active role during the gathering, taking on the government oil firms and the national power generating firm Kengen over ever escalating fuel and power prices, cited as a hindrance to economic development.

In the event hosted by Energy ministry ,public consultancy firm Ogilvy Mather has been appointed as publicity and media agents for the event to be held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in the capital.

The event comes at a time when the country is undergoing an energy crisis of sorts the public and the industry complaining over increased costs and which are also being for a rise in inflation now standing at 28%.

A shortage of rains in the past 4 months has seen a major drop in water levels in power dams forcing Kengen to use diesel to generate power as opposed to the traditional hydro-based and Geothermal power .

It is for this reason that wind and solar based power will for the first be given due attention by authorities as the country seeks more creative ways of producing energy.

International oil prices now in falling after months of escalation have not translated into lower pump prices in Kenya and motorists are hard pressed in fueling their cars. The situation last month also saw a more that 79% rise in power bills as Kengen relies more and more on diesel power .

It is for this villagers in central Kenya are now using local rivers to produce own power realising that power sold to them by Kengen and Kenya Power and Lightning company will soon be out of reach.


High energy costs according to experts have seen a rise in household poverty levels resulting from high prices for consumer goods and high transport costs.

High power tariffs have been cited time and again as one the main factor that makes Kenya one of the most expensive investment destinations in sub-Saharan Africa and especially for manufacturers.

That however may change after the country last struck huge coal deposits of coal in lower Eastern province and whose exploitation is set to start next year.

The case though is not the same for oil and gas exploration efforts for so far 3 companies have abandoned prospecting after failing to strike the black gold in three different parts in the coast region.

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