Better energy planning key to protect consumers and secure reliable supply

A recent media roundtable hosted by Kenya's Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) and the Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) emphasized the importance of improved energy planning to protect consumers and ensure a reliable energy supply. EPRA Director Edward Kinyua highlighted that the regulator's primary role is to safeguard consumers, investors, and stakeholders while maintaining a secure supply of petroleum products, electricity, and other energy resources.

This is achieved through rigorous licensing, prudent tariff-setting, and cost-of-service studies for electricity and petroleum. Kinyua also addressed the challenges to petroleum security of supply, noting that global volatility in supply due to disruptions along major corridors has led to higher prices for consumers. However, Kenya has managed to maintain adequate supplies through robust planning, stakeholder coordination, and government-to-government petroleum imports, resulting in significantly lower fuel costs compared to global averages.

The Minimum Operational Stocks Regulations, under Legal Notice No. 44 of 2008, require marketers to maintain sufficient stocks of diesel and super petrol to mitigate supply disruptions. EPRA is also developing regulations for strategic petroleum stocks, which would provide an additional buffer against supply disruptions. The Dangote refinery in Lamu and the South Lokichar oil project in Turkana are both expected to bolster Kenya's petroleum security by increasing local refining capacity and creating additional sources of petroleum products.

EPRA's Acting Director General, Joseph Oketch, stressed the importance of accurate energy reporting to the media, as the sector often faces intense public scrutiny during market adjustments and geopolitical changes. Misreporting can lead to confusion and speculation, which is why direct communication between the regulator and media is crucial.

Ongoing electricity market reforms, including open-access regulations and time-of-use studies, aim to improve electricity reliability and reduce system losses, which currently increase the cost of power supply.