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Bboxx Kenya agreed in January a KSh1.6bn ($15m) debt package with local commercial bank SBM Bank Kenya. The Private Infrastructure Development Group’s GuarantCo is underwriting the deal with a KSh1.2bn partial credit guarantee.

Having taken over as operator of the national grid earlier this year, Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) is preparing to start construction work on a new national control centre in the coming months, funded by French development agency AFD. It is the latest is a series of reforms over the past 25 years which has seen Kenya Power’s role gradually diminish, while responsibilities are handed to bodies such as Ketraco and KenGen

Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) managers have sought approval from their board of directors to bypass the regular tendering process to find a contractor to repair four pylon towers that collapsed in December.

Three Kenya Power managers were charged by police, following a nationwide blackout in January. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations interrogated as many as 18 managers after transmission towers carrying power from the Kiambere hydropower plant to Nairobi collapsed, causing a blackout lasting several hours.

The World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes set another new record for the size of its caseload in 2021, with power and energy cases the most significant area of work and disputes involving African countries also prominent.

Unilever Tea Kenya has said it will apply for a power generation licence this month, in a move that will reduce its reliance on utility Kenya Power (KPLC). The firm said it “intends to apply for a licence for the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical energy for use within its estates in the West Kenya area that encompass Kericho and Bomet counties”.

Africa50 and Power Grid Corporation of India’s agreement to jointly develop the Lessos to Loosuk and Kisumu to Musaga transmission lines under a pioneering public private partnership model take the schemes a step closer to financial close, potentially establishing a model for private sector finance in African transmission network development

Globeleq has commissioned its 52MW Malindi Solar PV plant in Kilifi county. The plant was exporting about 40MW into the grid as of 14 December. Globeleq owns the plant along with Africa Energy Development Corporation (AEDC) which has a 10% share.

Eni’s Mlima-1 deep-water well in the offshore Lamu Basin has confirmed Kenya’s interest in exploiting its offshore potential only three months after the International Court of Justice ruled against it in a maritime border dispute that places blocks under Somalia’s jurisdiction

The Kenyatta administration has told KenGen to cut geothermal tariffs, as the government widens its efforts to lower prices that previously only targeted IPPs operating in Kenya, writes Neville Otuki in Nairobi

Not all recommendations from the Presidential Taskforce on Review of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are being followed. The recently-published report called for all negotiations over PPAs to be halted immediately.

The Kenyan utility is under pressure to stem commercial losses and meet President Kenyatta’s target of slashing consumer bills by one-third by Christmas. Renegotiations remain on the cards for IPPs, but the government insists it won’t ‘strongarm’ anybody, writes Dan Marks.

The Kipevu oil terminal is due to start operations in January, substantially increasing Kenya’s capacity to handle petroleum products for its domestic market and those destined for Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

Kenya has been a significant bellwether for international investors and an example of the increasing need to invest in community engagement and avoid short cuts in environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) procedures. As one Kenyan specialist told the October 2019 AIX: Nairobi conference, a power developer could be greeted initially with a welcome dance or by herders carrying Kalashnikovs – investors needed to be suitably prepared .

The $5.1bn sale of Unilever’s tea division assets to CVC Capital Partners points to the potential for emerging markets’ commodities, but social and governance concerns persuaded other bidders to pull back. This and other examples – such as the cancelled Kinagop wind project detailed by Pierre Bertrand below – point to shifting ESG metrics that cannot be ignored by operators and investors in all sectors, writes Marc Howard