Geothermal power boosts KenGen profit to 48% YOY growth
KenGen's newest 83MW geothermal power plant, Olkaria I Unit 6 (source: KenGen)
Carlo Cariaga
30 Oct 2023
Kenya's KenGen has reported a 48% YOY profit growth, bolstered by increase in operation efficiency and new installed capacity at the Olkaria geothermal field.
State-owned electricity company KenGen has reported a 48% growth in profit after tax for the year ending in June 2023. The profit growth has been attributed in large part to increased operation efficiency and capacity growth of the company’s geothermal facilities in Olkaria in Naivasha, Kenya.
KenGen’s profit number has grown from Ksh 3.4 billion (approx. USD 22.58 million) to Ksh 5.02 billion (approx. USD 33.33 million) for the last year. The company has also reported a 14% growth in revenues, from Ksh 47.47 billion to Ksh 53.96 billion.
According to Peter Njenga, KenGen Managing Director and CEO, KenGen’s increased profit is heavily attributed to the enhanced operational efficiency of the Olkaria geothermal facilities, as well as the increase in installed capacity from the newly commissioned 86-MW Olkaria I Additional Unit 6 geothermal power plant.
“The commissioning of Olkaria I AU 6 geothermal power plant pushed up our geothermal generation by 24%. This contributed to an overall increase in electricity unit sales from 7,918GWh in 2022 to 8,027GWh,” said Njenga. The CEO further added that KenGen supplied over 66% of the electricity consumption of Kenya for the year.
In the next years, KenGen seeks to add more generation capacity to leverage on the growth in demand for electricity in Kenya, which is currently at about 5% annually. KenGen is targeting 154 MW of new installed capacity over the next two years by rehabilitating and uprating its existing power plants.
KenGen had previously been awarded funding from the EU for the refurbishment of the Olkaria I and IV geothermal power plants. The plans involve a turbine uprating that will increase the capacity of the two geothermal power stations from the current 280 MW to 320 MW.
KenGen reported an an increase in operating costs over the last year as well, attributed to rising insurance and impairment costs. However, this was matched by the company’s revenue growth.
Source: Kenyan Wall Street
