Rains visit misery on thousands as bridges collapse
Unusually heavy rains in Kenya in the past few months have boosted hydropower generation and cut electricity prices, boosting the country's quest to get power mainly from renewable sources, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said on Monday.
KNBS data shows that hydropower production rose to 928 million kilowatts per hour (kwh) in the last quarter of 2019 following excessive rains, up 174 million kwh from the previous quarter, the highest quarterly output in 2019, the bureau said.
Between October and December 2019, most areas in Kenya received excessive rainfall of up to 80 mm a day, which caused flooding, deaths and destruction.
The high production from hydro sources led to a drop of up to 6.4 percent in electricity prices, according to utility firm Kenya Power.
However, energy production from wind declined significantly during the same period.
"With the current ongoing heavy rains, power generation from hydro will continue to rise, bringing some savings for consumers," said Ernest Manuyo, a business lecturer at Pioneer Institute in Nairobi. (Xinhua)
