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While Tanzania is moving ahead with its oil pipeline from Uganda, and could even revive IOCs plans to develop large-scale offshore gas deposits for export, it is cosying up to Kenya with an eye to selling more of its gas. Kenyan officials say the governments’ longstanding talks about gas sales could work – if the price is right.

Reports emerged in early May that Somalia and Kenya were restoring diplomatic relations almost six months after severing ties due to tensions over shared oil and gas deposits.

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has extended the contract for the 56MW Muhoroni gas turbines GT1 and GT2 in Kisumu until a new geothermal supply for the region has stabilised. The turbines belong to state-owned Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) and feed western Kenya.

Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) has increased its compensation offer to local landowners affected by the Kenya-Tanzania transmission project by 75%, potentially clearing a significant hurdle. Ketraco yielded to the demands of locals after four years of protracted negotiations on a 96km section from Isinya to Namanga, near the border with Tanzania.

Commercial and industrial (C&I) solar company Starsight Energy has reported 74% growth in revenues in 2020, underlining the apparent differing fortunes for off-grid solar companies, as solar home system (SHS) providers appear to have struggled more than C&I companies.

The state-owned Geothermal Development Company (GDC) successfully discharged the third exploratory well at its Paka site on 16 March, following completion of the heating monitoring period, according to a company statement on 9 April. Paka Well 3 was drilled to a depth of 2.9km.

President Kenyatta has set up a taskforce to review the PPAs signed by monopoly distributor Kenya Power and electricity producers, in a fresh bid to renegotiate terms in favour of the struggling state-owned utility, reports Neville Otuki in Nairobi.

Tullow Oil moved back into the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE 250 index in early March, after its share price strengthened in line with a higher oil price and amid optimism about its debt. Tullow’s restoration to the index follows the cancellation of smart meter installer Calisen’s listing after it was taken private. Tullow was dropped from the FTSE 250 in March 2020, when its shares were suffering from a combination of a sharply lower oil price and the company’s own woes.

Off-grid operations have proved resilient in the face of Covid-19 challenges, as major investors and financial institutions expand their support for electricity access away from national grids. But scaling up local businesses so that distributed energy solutions can reach their potential remains a huge challenge, leading industry players told a virtual African Investment Exchange (AIX) meeting.

Kenya Tea Development Agency subsidiary KTDA Power Company is seeking to prequalify EPC contractors, electrical contractors and electromechanical manufacturers and suppliers for a series of small hydropower plants to supply tea processing factories and the grid under already-signed PPAs. The projects range from 0.5MW to 10MW and are at various stages of development, with four plants already operational, seven under construction and another ten under implementation, according to the tender notice.

Kenya Power is showing signs of recovery after posting a pre-tax profit of Ksh332m ($3m) in its half-year results for July-December 2020, following a loss of Ksh7bn for the full year to June 2020. The power distributor said it expected to sustain the same trajectory into the second half of the financial year. Electricity sales are expected to keep rising as the economy recovers from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

EDF has agreed to take a 23% stake in Bboxx Kenya, with a target of providing solar home systems to more than 2m Kenyans by 2025.

Power Africa is seeking projects offering off-grid energy access to improve the capabilities of healthcare facilities providing maternal and child health services in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda. Grant funding will support the scale-up of existing business models or technologies for the electrification of healthcare facilities.

 Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) has completed the $230m Suswa substation, a key component of the Ethiopia-Kenya interconnector project which will allow Kenya to import cheaper hydropower from Ethiopia via a 1,045km, 500kV HVDC transmission line from Wolayta Sodo in Ethiopia to Suswa.

UK-based developer Globeleq is looking at acquiring a majority stake in Quantum Power East Africa’s 35MW geothermal project in Menengai, the Competition Authority of Kenya said in a notice. The project is one of three troubled 35MW IPP projects at Menengai to sign implementation and steam supply agreements with the Geothermal Development Company in 2014.