The heavy rains that pounded the country during the first half of the year boosted hydropower production by 66 percent over the period, increasing supplies of the relatively cheaper source of energy to the national grid.
Fresh data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that hydropower generation—primarily by giant power firm Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen)—hit 1.84 billion units between January and June.
This marks a steep jump from 1.11 billion units produced from the source during the same period last year.
KenGen says the dams are still full, raising hopes for continued generation of cheaper hydropower in the coming months.
“Masinga is still full, the other dams are also full,” said the company.
This is set to be the first year that hydropower generation has increased in three years. The last time KenGen’s hydro output rose was in the year to June 2021.
Hydro is Kenya’s second-largest source of electricity after geothermal. It is also the cheapest, which means that when more hydropower is fed to the grid, it displaces more expensive sources such as thermal, leading to lower power charges.
But unlike geothermal output, which is independent of weather events, hydropower generation largely relies on rainfall patterns.
Kenya’s electricity generation from hydro has been declining over the last three years due to a persistent drought that affected water levels in dams.
While Kenya Power purchased 4.09 billion units of hydropower in the financial year 2020-21, these purchases dropped to 3.34 billion units in the subsequent year and further to 2.56 billion units last year.
Due to the drought, which diminished water levels in dams, the share of hydropower fed to the grid during that year fell to just 20.6 percent down from 28.3 percent in the previous year.
KenGen owns all the main hydro plants with their capacity totalling 826megawatts. There are, however, small hydropower plants owned by private investors.
These small hydros have an installed capacity of 12.1MW, according to data from Kenya Power.
Kenya received heavy rains that started in March.
While the rains caused havoc, including the death of more than 160 individuals and, the destruction of property and infrastructure such as roads and bridges, they also filled major dams across the country.
The increase in hydropower generation, coupled with increased imports from neighboring Ethiopia, has helped reduce the share of expensive thermal power on the grid.
According to official data, thermal generation dropped by 34 percent to 521.02 million units in the half-year to June compared to 699.57 million units in the same period last year.
