Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen) has reported 48 per cent growth in profit after tax for the year ended June 30, 2023, surging to Ksh 5.02 billion up from Ksh 3.4 billion in the previous year.
At the same time, the NSE-listed company has reported 14 per cent growth in revenues from Ksh 47.48 billion in 2022 to Ksh 53.96 billion, largely driven by the company’s investments in geothermal energy.
KenGen Managing Director and CEO Peter Njenga attributed the performance to the enhanced operational efficiency of the company’s geothermal fleet in Olkaria, Naivasha, further bolstered by a positive impact of the newly commissioned Olkaria I Additional Unit 6 geothermal power plant which added 86MW to the grid in July 2022.
“The commissioning of Olkaria I AU 6 geothermal power plant pushed up our geothermal generation by 24 percent. This contributed to an overall increase in electricity unit sales from 7,918GWh in 2022 to 8,027GWh,” said Eng. Njenga.
However, KenGen reported an increase in operating costs which the CEO attributed to rising insurance and impairment costs. This was matched by growth in revenue resulting in a pre-tax profit of Ksh 8.5 billion, which was a substantial improvement from Ksh 6.2 billion reported in the previous year.
“We are confident that our Good-to-Great Transformation Strategy is on course and will continue to deliver growth over the next decade to ensure a reliable supply of clean and affordable energy to the people of Kenya,” said Eng. Njenga, adding that the company contributed over 66% of Kenya’s electricity consumption in the year.
Looking ahead, KenGen will be banking on the growth in demand for electricity in Kenya which continues to grow about 5 per cent annually. In line with the demand and the Least Cost Power Development Plan (LCPDP), the company has announced ambitious plans to augment generation capacity by more than 154MW over the next two years through the rehabilitation and uprating of its existing power plants.
“One of the projects we are looking to deliver soon include the Gogo Hydropower Redevelopment Project in Migori County which was approved by Cabinet recently and is set to elevate the dam’s electricity capacity from its current 2MW to 8.6MW,” said Eng. Njenga.
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