Kenya’s electricity grid touched a new all-time high on Wednesday, recording a system peak demand of 2,362.28 MW.
The Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen) attributes the surge in power consumption in the country to industrial expansion, increased urbanisation, and rising domestic energy use.
The power generator's geothermal and hydropower plants delivered the lion’s share of energy to the system, contributing significantly to stabilising the supply and preventing outages.
According to the latest reports by Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), KenGen’s geothermal plants generated 13,678.35 megawatt-hours (MWh), representing 31.85 per cent of total energy supplied, while its hydropower stations delivered 10,915.93MWh, or 25.42 per cent of the national output.
Combined, these sources accounted for over 57 per cent of the country's daily electricity generation, underscoring KenGen’s strategic role in delivering clean, reliable, and affordable power.
KenGen CEO and managing director, Peter Njenga, said the firm is committed to supplying steady and reliable baseload power to light our homes and drive Kenya’s industrialisation.
“This is why in our 10-year G2G strategy, we are working to deliver 1,500MW of electricity all from renewable sources, including geothermal, hydro, wind and solar.”
Notably, Kiambere exceeded expectations by producing 2,908 MWh, 23.31 percent above dispatch projections.
Other major hydros like Gitaru, Kamburu, and Masinga also supported system operations despite flow variability in the cascading river system.
The power generator says that this greatly contributed to the stabilisation of the cost of electricity in the country, considering hydro is Kenya’s cheapest source.
Geothermal, meanwhile, proved essential for baseload support, with minimal curtailment. This aligns with Kenya’s long-term energy transition strategy to reduce reliance on expensive thermal imports and enhance renewable generation.
“While the total energy demand for the day stood at 42,943.11MWh, including thermal sources, wind, and interconnectors with Uganda and Ethiopia supplemented generation, we are glad to note that it was KenGen’s steady delivery from indigenous resources that ensured grid stability,” Njenga said.
The milestone demand came without any reported load shedding, affirming the robust response by system operators. However, transmission lines such as Muhoroni-Chemosit and Kisumu-Muhoroni exceeded 120 per cent capacity, highlighting the need for urgent infrastructure reinforcement to keep pace with surging demand.
