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{
    "id": 788343,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/788343/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 145,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Dr.) Pukose",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1458,
        "legal_name": "Robert Pukose",
        "slug": "robert-pukose"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I stand to support the Energy Bill, 2017. This is a repeal of the Energy Act which has been in operation within our country. It is a Bill that has looked at the energy sector in all its aspects and forms. When we talk of energy, people just think of electricity. When you think of electricity, you imagine the Kenya Power (KPC). The KPC is just part of the whole process. At the beginning, right from generation of power, is where we have the Kenya Electricity Generating Company Limited (KENGEN) and the Geothermal Development Company (GDC). Those are the companies involved in power generation. We also have independent power generators that use diesel. This has been going on for quite a long time within our country. We entered into some agreements with the independent power generators. They use thermal energy. This has made power very expensive within our country. As time progresses, our country has seen tremendous development of power. Power is developed at the source as geothermal, hydropower or gas energy. With regards to gas, we are talking of using methane as the main gas. Gas exploration in Lamu takes place in Pate Island. It started way back in 1947 when gas was discovered in Pate One, which is a monumental place on Pate Island. This is where the community visited. This is history in the making but at that time, when gas was discovered by TOTAL, people did not realise the importance of gas. Over a period of time, we realised that generation of power using gas will be much cheaper than what we were using such as the diesel generators. From there, power is transmitted by the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO). Once KETRACO has transmitted the power, you have the distributor. The distributor will either be the KPC or the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) in rural areas. The REA and KPC will distribute power to consumers. Once REA has distributed power to consumers, the KPC continues with management. Therefore, more often when there are black- outs, people say that we have a problem with the KPC. The problem might not necessarily be at the point of distribution, it might be at the point of transmission. We have also had challenges when KETRACO is installing power. We have had cases of vandalism. We have also had cases of communities moving closer to the lines especially in sparsely populated areas, for example, the line from Ethiopia to Kenya. At the initial stage, there were no people living along that line. But when they realised that there is a line that would pass through there, communities moved into that position and started demanding compensation. This has hindered development of power within our country. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}