Kenya mulls electricity deal with South Sudan

NAIVASHA, Kenya, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Kenya and South Sudan said Tuesday they are working on a deal to address the acute shortage of electricity in Juba. Under the deal, Kenya will offer electricity from geothermal in exchange of gas from oil fields in South Sudan.

Charles Keter, Kenya's cabinet secretary for energy and petroleum, said that works are undergoing to construct transmission lines to Lodwar town which neighbors South Sudan, noting that Nairobi is keen to use the transmission lines to supply electricity to the neighboring country which was currently engaged in various development projects.

"We are engaging our brothers from South Sudan so that Kenya can get gas from the oil fields while they in return will get electricity supply," he said.

The official made the remarks when visiting South Sudanese President Salva Kiir toured the geothermal plant in Naivasha, Kenya.

Daniel Awou, South Sudan's minister for petroleum, said that his country faces many challenges in power production, noting that the oil fields in the war-ravaged country need more electricity so that they could supply more oil.

"We are ready to partner with Kenya in terms of geothermal exploration and supply as currently the demand for electricity in our country is higher than supply," he said.

Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), the largest power producing company in Kenya, said on Tuesday that the company is ready and willing to share its expertise and experience in geothermal power development with South Sudan.

Rebecca Miano, CEO of KenGen said that studies have proven that South Sudan has capability of producing 400MW of geothermal power, adding Kenya is ready to support its neighbor.

"Kenya is ranked ninth in terms of geothermal production in the world and we are ready to offer expertise and advice to South Sudan government," she said, emphasizing the importance of clean energy given its contribution to curbing climate change.

"KenGen's strategic focus is geared towards geothermal energy production, an area the company has heavily invested in. Our diverse expertise in energy production has become a point of reference, providing insights to various countries in Africa such as Ethiopia, Comoros, Rwanda and Djibouti," Miano said.

Miano said KenGen is also exploring expansion opportunities beyond Kenya and will in the near future extend to oil and mining sectors in the region.

Kenya is Africa's leading geothermal energy producer and is among the top ten in the world. The country has a geothermal installed capacity of 685 MW with an estimated potential of 10,000MW along the Rift Valley, according to KenGen.