Kenya Electricity may issue asset-backed securities

Nairobi, Kenya — ESI-AFRICA.COM — 05 September 2011 – Kenya Electricity Generation Company (KenGen) is considering issuing asset-backed securities to finance geothermal exploration, as the country aims to install 4,700MW of steam-driven power over the next two decades.

KenGen “’ the country’s biggest power producer “’ may be ready to offer the bonds linked to geothermal resources as early as next year should the authorities allow it, managing director Eddy Njoroge said in an interview here.

“We are considering asset-back securities, and they would trade on the Nairobi Stock Exchange,” Njoroge said. “We can use steam as an asset to raise funds for drilling. The idea is in the development stage, but we could be ready in six months, a year.”

Kenya’s state-run Geothermal Development Company estimates the extent of its unexploited resources ranges from 7,000 to 10,000MW at 14 high-potential locations valued at US$30 billion.

“Peak demand for electricity in Kenya has grown to 1,200MW this year, and is expected to hit 15,000MW by 2030,” Njoroge told a conference here. “To meet growing demand, the country needs to install about 15,000MW, a third of which will probably come from geothermal energy, over the next 20 years, he added.