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| Director General EPRA Daniel Kiptoo |
Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) Director General Daniel Kiptoo has been elected chairman of the 13-member steering committee of the Regulatory Energy Transition Accelerator (RETA).
He holds the position until 2026 when the next elections will be held.
The committee works directly with energy regulators to facilitate knowledge sharing on regulatory issues necessary to accelerate the transition towards clean energy.
Kiptoo welcomed the position and called for adherence to clean energy capabilities from geothermal energy exploration, battery energy storage systems and promoting nationwide adoption of electrical mobility.
“EPRA is committed to steering the adoption of renewable energy from generation to end-use in Kenya. Through RETA, we can collectively share knowledge and resources to expedite clean energy transition for a sustainable future for all,” said Kiptoo.
RETA, which currently has 54 regulators, was launched in the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference by the World Bank, energy innovation officials and regulators from around the world as part of the Green Grids Initiative.
Green Grids aims at accelerating the construction of the new infrastructure needed for a world powered by renewable energy.
Cameroon’s Electricity Sector Regulatory Agency (ARSEL), together with energy regulators ARESEP of Costa Rica and CRE (France), now on its second term on the global body joins EPRA.
Others are the ERC (North Macedonia), ERC (Thailand), NURC (St. Lucia), OEB (Ontario, Canada) and Ofge from Great Britain.
The World Bank, International Renewable Energy Agency and the International Energy Agency are permanent members.
Kenya has heavily invested in its transition to renewable energy with the period 2023/24
Latest data from the Economic Survey 2024 shows that renewable sources accounted for 89.6 per cent of local electricity production in 2023.
Geothermal generation remained the main source of electricity generation, contributing 48.2 per cent of the total local electricity generated.
Hydro generation at 21.3 per cent, and wind generation at 16.1 per cent followed this.
Ember’s fifth Global Energy Review Report shows that Kenya is ahead of the global average of 13 per cent.
Kenya is among African countries that are leveraging on renewable energy adoption, only ranking behind Senegal and Morocco.
“Some major economies in the region (Africa) are far ahead of the global average of 13%, including Kenya, Senegal, and Morocco with each generate around a fifth (20%) of their electricity from solar and wind,” the report read in part.
The government aims to achieve a 100 percent clean energy transition by 2030.
by MINAH MAHERO