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{
    "id": 822612,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/822612/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 163,
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    "content": "production, especially around rivers. We have tea and coffee factories that sometimes produce more than it is needed. However, there are no proper mechanisms of how they can sell extra energy to the national grid. Of course, there are issues of costing and pricing in that regard. Madam Temporary Speaker, this Bill provides a very good opportunity to ensure that this is regulated and that such more producers can work with county governments so that they can supply, especially, areas that are off the national grid. It also gives another opportunity for the counties to tax and get some revenue so that they can increase on their on-source revenue projections so that they can develop the various areas of the economies of those counties. In particular, infrastructural development. It will also help in terms of ensuring that we address the economic viabilities of these counties. This Bill, with regard to ensuring that counties have a role, is to provide Kenyans with an opportunity of increased manufacturing which is part of the Big Four Agenda. Energy is a critical aspect of ensuring that we manufacture our goods and also process our services to increase employment opportunities for, especially, our young people. Madam Temporary Speaker, in that same regard, there is the opportunity to leverage on renewable energy in particular, biogas. Just yesterday, I was being shown by a gentleman who has used biogas to fuel tuk tuks and, they can function. Biogas can shred animal feeds and pump water from the river to a homestead. I am sure there are many other technologies around that. This is what we need to ensure that Kenyans benefit from, including liquefying that gas to negative eight degrees, so that you can use that in a portable manner to various homesteads. That then would also mean that we reach areas that were seen to be marginalised before, where there is huge animal rearing and production. We would get a lot of biogas that would fuel the homesteads and the local economies of such areas. This Bill is great if it were to be implemented in totality. Madam Temporary Speaker, I reckon that this Bill is quite bulky. It requires the concerted effort of the various regimentation of actors so that we can achieve the maximum benefit from the provisions of the law. Kenya is experiencing a very interesting scenario. Now we have qualified to be oil producers. It means that we need to have an energy law that speaks to this new area of engagement. Recently, we have seen that there have been tensions in the oil fields between the local communities and the producers, Tullow Oil Company. Of course, the early oil project seems to be in limbo as we speak. Madam Temporary Speaker, this Bill provides us an opportunity to ensure that over and above the petroleum laws, we have clear ways of engagement mechanisms with local communities, so that then, the energy infrastructure, in this case the pipeline and the vehicles that will be used to transport the oil to Mombasa, are well protected. At the core of it is the issue around communities benefiting from their own natural resources. This is not just a question of Turkana County. We may discover other forms of energy reserves in other counties. For example, at the Mui Basin in Kitui and some oil fields in Migori County as has been reported and the gas reserves in Lamu County around Mkokoni area. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}