Top Energy Companies in Kenya
Marcopolis.net presents the list of the top energy companies in Kenya, including players from the electricity transmission and distribution segment, as well as the oil and gas sector. All the companies are listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
List of the Leading Energy Companies in Kenya
In Kenya, electricity supply is predominantly sourced from hydro and fossil fuel (thermal) sources. As of 2015, 47% of Kenyans were connected to the national grid, which is one of the highest connection rates in Sub-Saharan Africa. Privatisation of the energy market has had a huge impact on energy access in Kenya, attracting investment into the decentralised renewables sector and opening it up to innovation and competition, and the emergence of independent power producers. Kenya has a single independent regulatory agency (the Energy Regulatory Commission) which works to create a strong enabling environment for the energy sector. The agency is in charge of economic and technical regulation of electric power, tariff-setting and review, licensing, enforcement of compliance, dispute settlement and approval of power purchase and network service contracts.
In mid–2012, oil was discovered in the country, after a long time of disappointing exploration activities. The reserves became commercially viable after it was confirmed that there were around 300 million barrels worth of reserves. Following President Kenyatta’s directive to expedite the exploration of oil wells, British energy group, Tullow Oil, has confirmed that it will start exploring for oil in Kenya in March 2017, allowing the country to join the league of oil-exporting countries.
Top Energy Companies in Kenya
Marcopolis.net presents the top energy companies in Kenya. This non-exhaustive list is based on the findings of the Marcopolis.net research team and includes companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, in no particular order.
The List
| Rank | Company | Country | Industry | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenya | Oil Marketing | The KenolKobil Group is Africa’s fastest growing indigenous oil marketing conglomerate with an expansive investment portfolio spanning the entire Eastern, Central and Southern parts of the African continent. The Group consists of subsidiaries in eight African countries outside Kenya (Head Office) including: Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Ethiopia and Burundi. KenolKobil trades in both crude and refined petroleum products which include motor fuels, industrial oils, LPG, aviation fuels, lubricants and various other specialist oils. | |
| 2 | France | Oil and Gas | Total Kenya Limited is part of the global Total Group, which is the 4th largest publicly traded integrated international oil and gas company in the world, with presence in over 100 countries. The company has been in existence in Kenya since 1955 when it was first registered as OZO East Africa Limited. Total Kenya’s market presence boasts of more than 176 service stations, 5 solely owned fuel depots, 3 joint depots, 2 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) filling plants, 1 Lubricant blending plant and 5 aviation depots. | |
| 3 | Kenya | Electricity | KenGen was incorporated in 1954 to construct the transmission line between Nairobi and Tororo in Uganda, as well as to develop geothermal and other generating facilities in the country. Since its inception, it sold electricity in bulk at cost to Kenya Power under a management contract. Following the energy sectoral reforms in 1996, its management was formally separated from Kenya Power and renamed KenGen in 1997. The company owns 31 power generating plants with a combined installed capacity of 1,337 MW from diverse generation modes comprising of hydro, thermal, geothermal and wind technologies. | |
| 4 | Kenya | Electricity Transmission and Distribution System | Kenya Power owns and operates most of the electricity transmission and distribution system in the country and sells electricity to over 4.8 million customers. The company’s key mandate is to plan for sufficient electricity generation and transmission capacity to meet demand; building and maintaining the power distribution and transmission network and retailing of electricity to its customers. The Government has a controlling stake at 50.1% of shareholding, with private investors at 49.9%. | |
| 5 | Uganda | Electricity Distribution | Umeme is the largest electricity distribution company in Uganda. It is mandated to operate, maintain, upgrade and expand the distribution network; retail electricity to its customers and improve efficiency within the electricity distribution system. Umeme is listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), as well as the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). |