Kenya failed to generate new renewable power from key sources in a year to June 2025 in what the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) attributes to the moratorium placed on new Power Purchase Agreement.
According to the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) the moratorium which was placed on new PPA in the first quarter of 2021 has slowed investments into new power plants, a move which has slowed Kenya’s power generation capacity forcing the country to turn to imports from Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania.
The Energy & Petroleum Statistics Report 2025 by the regulator shows that installed capacity from geothermal, hydro and solar remained flat 943.7MW, 872.5MW and 436MW respectively owing to the restrictions placed in by the government in the first quarter of 2021.
“This moratorium affected all generation projects. We have also seen a reduction in investment when it comes to development of what will be our base load which is geothermal and which will require a lot of capital to be able to investment in geothermal an which takes a longer time to deploy than wind and solar,” said Daniel Kiptoo, EPRA Director General.
In the financial year 2024/25, total installed capacity rose marginally from 3,778.5MW to 3,840.8MW with geothermal power accounting for 25.9pc of total installed capacity, followed by hydro, thermal, wind and solar with 23.97pc, 17.2pc, 14.1pc and 11.98pc respectively.
According to Kiptoo, the moratorium is limiting Kenya’s electricity reserve as electricity demand continues to rise. During the period, the country’s peak demand rose fom 2,177MW reported last year as.
“We have our installed capacity and we have what is actually available capacity and we have a very thin reserve margin. So it is upon us as country to be able to move with speed and I know the ministry and the utility have been engaging to be able to accelerate the onboarding of new projects so that they can ensure that we don’t have a scenario where we end up load shedding as a country,” added Kiptoo.
Nonetheless, Kenya’s energy generated during the period rose to 14,472GWh of electricity from 13,684.4GWh reported last year owing to grid connectivity and increased demand. During the period, the country’s peak demand rose from 2,177MW reported last year.
“Peak demand rose to a record 2,316MW that is an increase of 6.4pc from the year before indicating demand for electricity. In this regard I would like to encourage manufacturers and industries to take advantage of the initiatives put in place so far to ensure we have responsible use of electricity especially from the national grid,” said Opiyo Wandayi, Energy Cabinet Secretary.
During the year, imports from Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania stood at 200MW with the country set to import 100MW by the end of the year with commissioning of new transmission lines.
