The Nation (Nairobi)
Robert Shaw
7 July 2009
opinion
Nairobi — KENYA IS STUMBLING FROM one energy crisis to another. A double avalanche of critical power and water shortfalls is lurching inexorably closer to us.
What is amazing is that we appear to be sitting, almost waiting for the crises to befall us. This is on top of the series of scams that have riddled the government-owned Kenya Pipeline Co.
In short , the country's tenuous reliance on water as one of its major power sources is literally being reduced to a trickle. Kenya's increasingly heavy dependence on the more expensive thermal power is now likely to go a notch higher. But that is not without its problems.
Shall we be able to plug the supply and demand gap without resorting to rationing? Secondly, increased use of oil- or coal-fired thermal generation will drive up electricity prices particularly when the world price of oil is on the rise.
IT IS ALSO NECESSARY TO ENSURE that any extra thermal power supply contracted is done so as competitively and as transparently as possible.
One of the people who will inevitably be caught up in the eye of the impending storm is Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi. When Kenyans get the double shock of lights going out more often and escalating electricity bills, there will be a chorus of demands as to what happened and whether the government reacted in a timely manner.
We shouldn't forget that the Ministry of Energy has still to fully account for the numerous woes buffeting KPC, be they mismanagement, massive losses or plain fraud. KPC is in Mr Murungi's docket and he is ultimately answerable for what is going on in it and the relevant remedial action that is wanting.
The bottom line is that KPC is a vital public owned entity vested with the running of a critical area of the country's, and indeed, the region's, infrastructure needs. Any shortfalls in carrying out that mandate not only waste the public's money and make its cost of running more expensive, but also hold back the country's economic development.
KPC is paid handsomely for the monopolistic, poor service it provides. Its pumping capacity is inadequate and has frequently resulted in oil supplies being ferried by road for the overall demand to be met and fuel shortages minimised.
Current attempts at improving that pumping capacity are fraught with uncontrolled and inordinate cost overruns and procurement breaches that are estimated to be heading to Sh6 billion or even more. We even witnessed the President commissioning a section of the project before it had been completed.
Then we have the whole murky KPC/Triton affair, of which it is too early to know how many billions of shillings the eventual cost will be. It has been over six months since this scam started to be publicly unravelled. Either the investigative process is inordinately slow, or we are being denied the full information and findings.
Quite honestly we really don't have clear, complete and professionally backed answers to these questions. We are told remedial action is taking place. We are told investigations and audits have been ongoing.
But when it comes to the large volumes of public money at stake, at risk or even lost, and the very likelihood that those volumes will get greater, then it is time we had a full and complete picture.
NOW, ON TOP OF THIS, COMES A looming energy crunch. The information we are receiving is coming in dribs and drabs and that should not be so. We need to be given a candid and comprehensive picture as to exactly what is what and the price we are going to have to pay for it. We need to be told exactly what short term actions are being taken coupled with the critical relevant timelines.
We also need to be given a revised action plan on how we are to cope with our medium- and longer-term needs, especially as we rely less on hydro power. The ministry has a lot on its plate, which is all the more reason why we must ensure it is on top of the various crises it has.
Mr Shaw is a Nairobi businessman
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A "quick and dirty" solution to part of your energy crunch. Quick because the resource is already there, dirty because it grows in mud. Your nation uses charcoal for much of its energy and is having shortages of charcoal. Make charcoal from aquatic weeds. Typha and Phragmites are available in quantity, and are easily used this way. The start up costs are near zero, and everywhere you clear these weeds you will get an improvement in your water supply. You can also make ethanol from these weeds for your other energy needs.