- Aluru stressed that there is a need to adopt sustainable and innovative financing mechanisms to attract a wider pool of private funding.
- ESAK seeks to enable policies and regulations, grid enhancements, sustainable financing and building inclusive pathways.
The Electricity Sector Association of Kenya (ESAK), ahead of the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP 27) session to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that will be held in Egypt starting November 6-18, is banking on new measures to ensure the country achieves a 100 per cent renewable energy transition by 2030. ESAK seeks to enable policies and regulations, grid enhancements, sustainable financing and building inclusive pathways. Also, build a value chain for renewable energy while maintaining investor confidence. George Aluru, ESAK Chairperson, said, “In line with the current administration’s agenda on introducing reliability and affordability of power, we as ESAK commit to encouraging the sustainable development of the Kenyan electricity sector through collaboration, advocacy and data-driven solutions, as a result maintaining investor confidence through a predictable and stable business environment.”
Statistics from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) indicates that Kenya could harness power from renewable energy sources. As a result, the government has prioritized the development of geothermal and wind energy plants for rural electrification. As part of the strategic goals to complete the transition to renewable energy, ESAK has outlined grid enhancement as part of its measure to steer the renewable energy plan. Also, as part of the implementation plan, the association proposes building national transmission lines, increasing regional interconnections and enhancing grid stability to unlock the full utilization of renewable energy resource potential.
Aluru stressed that there is a need to adopt sustainable and innovative financing mechanisms to attract a wider pool of private funding. ESAK has further called on its members and partners to commit to fair and inclusive pathways that strive to create local employment opportunities and address poverty, inequality and gender gaps while adopting transitioning measures to renewable energy.