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"id": 233898,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/233898/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Moi",
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"speaker": {
"id": 305,
"legal_name": "Gideon Kipsiele Towett Moi",
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"content": "Although there exists provisions on renewable energy, they are perfunctory. A good example I can cite here is the issue of ethanol power which hon. M'Mukindia has eloquently elaborated. In Brazil, ethanol power is used in 20 per cent of the means of transport. Ethanol has paid Brazil over US$120 million compared to its oil imports. Here in Kenya, we have a potential in our sugar belt areas, which is approximately 1.7 billion tonnes of biogas produced from our sugar industries. This is equivalent to 323 million tonnes of petroleum oil. In terms of money, it is about Kshs200 million. You can see exactly what that would translate into in terms of energy costs. Our Committee felt that we need to amend the Bill to create an energy research fund with a mandate to look at renewable energy and energy-saving technologies. These technologies include solar energy, thermal energy and wind energy of which we are aware something is being done November 21, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3799 although not adequately. The Committee realised that there were important issues which needed to be dealt with. Hon. M'Mukindia raised a few facts which the Committee had also pointed out. The most important of these facts is the issue of carbon credit. The Committee feels that, in the Bill, we need it to be demonstrated that there will be a sector which will be doing nothing else, but looking into how they can exploit carbon credit potential for our country. We know that KenGen signed a carbon credit agreement. However, we would like to see a more serious engagement in the signing of this agreement. Overseas investors will not be interested in one or two miniature hydroelectric power stations. If there is a pool of say, 50 or 80 mini hydroelectric power stations, then they can have the potential to attract investors. That way, we shall be able to get our carbon credit. Hon. M'Mukindia also mentioned something about geothermal power. This is one area that should be exploited because it will result in the production of kerosene, biodiesel and so on. We must be resilient and robust in giving incentives to those who would like to invest in this area of energy production. One other issue the Committee felt that should be addressed is the autonomy of the ERC. In Clause (4)(2) of the Energy Bill, 2006, the commission is said to be independent in the performance of its duties, but there are no steps to secure that independence. The Chairperson of the ERC is appointed by the President. The Commission also is composed of two Permanent Secretaries, that is, from the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Finance and five commissioners appointed by the Minister to represent the private sector. This is not, however, done in consultation with the private sector. It is better to have a professional regulatory commission instead of a stakeholder one. The Committee felt that Parliament should have the right to vet appointees of the ERC. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the independence of the ERC is also complicated by transition provisions. If you look at Schedule IV of the Bill, it provides that the current Electricity Regulatory Board (ERB) should be the ERC. The current ERB members are in a position to serve another eight years and six years more if the Board is turned into the ERC. This will happen without us being given an opportunity to ask whether they are the best placed to regulate the energy sector. We need to be allowed to state whether we are satisfied with the way they performed in their previous jobs. The appointment of Commissioners as stipulated under Clause 10 counters the current practice where senior appointments to such a body are vetted by Parliamentary Committees. We felt that the appointment of the Director-General, who is the CEO of the ERC, should be competitive. About the required qualifications for appointment to the ERC, we felt that the Bill should not only talk about senior managers, but also people who have been senior advisors and researchers in energy policies and legislation. We also felt that the adjudicatory functions should be removed from the ERC. This will be included in the amendments that we shall bringing in the Committee of the whole House. Another issue we thought should be dealt with is the definition of \"unreasonable tariff\". The definition, as it is now, neither includes consumer protection elements nor does it allow for public petition and so on. We shall also bring amendments to that effect. With regard to disconnection of power, the Bill allows for power suppliers to disconnect power in a business premise that belongs to a client who has another unrelated business premise elsewhere. So, if say, an hon. Member's wife living upcountry forgets to pay electricity bills for her business premise, the power supplier would come to Nairobi to disconnect power in the business premise of her co-wife. That is not fair at all. This is under Clause 61 (c). Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Bill has no provision with regard to emergency power supply for, say, hospital theatres, disaster zones and so on. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, lastly, another issue is the Board of the Rural 3800 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES November 21, 2006 Electrification Authority (REA). The composition of the Board is subject to the same objections as that of the ERB. We find that it is not clear why the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU), Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE), Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) and the Association of Engineers (AOE) and others are entitled to nominate the Board members but not, say, Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), the Association of Local Government Authorities of Kenya (ALGAK), K-Rep and other organisations which have deep rural roots. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Committee looked into the issue of rural electrification. We felt that the fund be public. The fund must come under extreme scrutiny and we believe that members of the board must be given performance targets so that we know what percentage in the year they will access in the rural countryside. So, our targets are 10 per cent, 15 per cent or 20 per cent. Uganda has done it very successfully where their penetration is constant at 10 per cent. As you heard, the \"born- again\" Minister told us that he is going to make sure that there will be light all over and we congratulate him on that. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other issue which we really need to look at is the traditional biomass. I am saying this because it serves no purpose for us to say that we are going to start building massive dams when we know that in 20 years time down the road there will be no water because we have destroyed our catchment areas, all the trees and et cetera . It is very important that we look at renewable energy and I keep repeating that we need, in the amendments, a special section dealing with that. We mentioned solar power, wind and other potential energy sources. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we also feel that, again, Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) needs to be privatised; more so especially in the area of distribution. We need to bring in more players and investors to come and invest in our transmission and distribution. So, we have plenty of amendments as a Committee. As I said, we are happy and feel that it goes the way to addressing a Sessional Paper but we feel that there are amendments which we need to put in, in order to strengthen it and especially strengthen it in the issue of renewable energy sector. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, finally, our overall conclusion was that the Energy Bill is inadequate to modernise the Kenya energy sector in a manner that would ease and strategically secure Kenya's energy supply until we put in these amendments which I will be talking to the House about it in details at the Committee Stage. With those few remarks, thank you."
}