Kenya's KenGen says peak power demand tops pre-COVID-19 levels

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya Electricity Generating Co. (KenGen) said on Tuesday peak daily power demand on the national grid had exceeded levels from February before the onset of COVID-19 in the East African country.

"Post COVID-19, we are happy to report that energy demand is now growing steadily. It is worth noting that the recorded daily peak demand has risen to 1,944 MW, compared to 1,804 MW in February before the pandemic set in," said KenGen CEO Rebecca Miano.

In May, KenGen, 70% owned by the government, had said demand for its electricity had fallen by about 8% due to restrictions imposed to limit the spread of the new coronavirus.

Kenya had a total installed electricity capacity of 2,818.9 MW as of the end of 2019, of which KenGen has 1,803 MW and supplies 72% of the power on the national grid, Miano told a virtual news conference.

(Reporting by George Obulutsa; editing by Omar Mohammed and Jason Neely)