Geothermal still tops Kenya's energy mix despite output decline

Geothermal continues to lead in Kenya’s energy mix, accounting for over 26 per cent of the country’s installed electricity.

According to the biannual energy sector report by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) for the 2024–25 financial year, hydro and thermal power follow at 24 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively.

This is as it emerged that during the review period, no new power plants were connected to the national grid despite the rising energy demand in the country.

According to the report, geothermal remained the leading source of energy, generating 2,875.33 gigawatt-hour (GWh), a decline compared to last year.

“The decline can be attributed to the shutdown of the 45 megawatt (MW) Olkaria I power plant for rehabilitation and an increase in electricity imports from Ethiopia,” reads the report.

Solar photovoltaic systems and wind generation contribute 13.43 per cent and 12.07 per cent of power to the total installed capacity, respectively.

“As of December 2024, captive power capacity, which mainly comprises biomass, solar, and hydro, stood at 574.6MW, accounting for 15.04 per cent of the country’s total installed capacity,” reads the report in part.

The report further notes that electricity imports rose significantly from 419.13GWh in the first half of the financial year 2023-24 to 751.95GWh in the first half of 2024-2025.

“The imports accounted for 10.41 percent of the total electrical energy in the current period, up from 6.16 percent in a similar period in the previous financial year,” says Epra in the report.

The energy sector regulator noted that during the review period, the peak demand reached 2,288.35MW on October 29, 2024, marking an increase of 117.79MW from the 2,170.56MW recorded in the same period a year earlier.

“This growth is attributed to organic load increases, a rise in new connections and improvements in transmission infrastructure,” reads the report.

In terms of electricity access, a total of 194,654 new customers were connected to the grid between July and December 2024, bringing the cumulative number of grid-connected customers to 9,852,423.

“This was a decline in new customer connections compared to the same period in the previous financial year, which recorded a total of 260,257 new connections,” says Epra.

According to Director General Daniel Kiptoo, as economic activities expanded, energy utilisation across the country saw a notable increase compared to the previous financial year.