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Monday, March 20, 2023 – As former Prime Minister Raila Odinga gets busy with his demos, his friend Gideon Moi is going to bed with President William Ruto.
This is after the Head of State gave the KANU Chairman a license to generate and supply power.
Over the weekend, Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir inspected the construction of a Geothermal Power plant in Menengai constructed by Sosian Energy – a firm owned by Gideon Moi by virtue of being the majority shareholder.
Chirchir was received by the firm’s director and Gideon Moi’s son, Kigen Moi, who took him around the facility.
Kigen also explained that the plant would begin generating power in April 2023.
“We expect to be in operation by end of April 2023 (early power) and June 2023 in terms of full power. In the first phase, we are expecting 22 Megawatts because Units 1 and 2 are ready,” he stated.
According to Sosian Menengai Geothermal Power Limited (SMGPL), the plant will produce 35MW of geothermal power.
The plant is constructed under a 25-year build-own-operate (BOO) basis through a public-private partnership (PPA) with Kenya Power and PISSA with GDC.
SMGPL signed an Engineering Procurement Contact (EPC) and Operation and Maintenance (O&M) contract with the Kaishan Group.
Apart from the plant in Menengai, Sosian Energy also intends to develop a 40mw Solar Park on a 400-acre land in Mogotio.
In addition, it also operates the Sosian Highland Geothermal Power plant and the Elmolo Wind Power Plant.
During the tour of the facility, Chirchir explained that there was need to reduce the pressure on hydro-electric power (HEP). He added that this would help lower the cost of power.
The CS explained that the country was forced to generate power using diesel to meet the demands of the country, thus pushing power prices up.
On February 28, Ruto’s cabinet lifted the moratorium issued during former Uhuru Kenyatta’s reign on procurement of new independent power producers (IPPs) in a bid to increase power generation.
The Kenyan DAILY POST.
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