Kenya Power has taken a leap towards electricity distribution business growing tremendously in the period between 2013 and 2016, from an installed capacity of about 1,700 MW to 2,341MW. At the same time, the peak demand stands at 1,620 MW with a reserve margin of 33%, above the international standard, which is 30% an indication that the firm is on the right path as far as generation capacity is concerned.
This growth was realised during times of the former MD & CEO, Dr Ben Chumo whose contract ended last month, a period characterised by exponential growth in customer connections and implementation of network improvement projects among other major corporate milestones.
The new guy at the top, in acting capacity after Chumo’s exit is Dr Ken Tarus, 46, who brings with him over 20 years’ corporate leadership and management experience, five of which are in the energy sector. Prior to his appointment, he was the Company’s general manager in charge of Finance and a member of the executive management team for a period of two years.
Previously, Dr Tarus worked at the Rural Electrification Authority as head of Finance between 2012 and 2014 prior to which he was the deputy vice chancellor for Finance, Planning and Administration at KCA University. He has held various leadership roles in the local banking sector as Head of Finance, IT and Administration at Bank of Africa, financial controller at Standard Chartered Bank and diverse positions at Kenya Commercial Bank.
He holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Business Administration (Finance) from Kabarak University, an MBA from the University of Nairobi and a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the same institution. He is also a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Kenya Institute of Management. But will he play a big role in entrenching the firm as a leader in electricity subsector?
Kenya Power chairman, Hon. Kenneth Marende, said the board of directors is confident that business operations of Kenya Power will continue to run smoothly under the interim leadership of Dr Tarus pending a competitive sourcing for a substantive managing director.
