Kenyan Ministry of Energy and Petroleum

The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum was founded in 1979, following the 1973 oil crisis and the realization that energy is a major component of the country’s development process. According to the revised service charter of the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, the ministry derives its mandate from the Presidential Circular No. 1/2004 of September 2004 and other Acts of Parliament relevant to Energy. According to a scoping study by Sustainable Integrity, the ministry is broadly responsible for the provision of energy to Kenyan businesses and consumers, and the management of "some" downstream processes. The study also mentions that the ministry might play a role in upstream governance in the future.

History

Before the formation of the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum in 1979, energy issues fell under the remit of several different ministries. The Ministry of Power and Communications was responsible for electricity development and pricing of power jointly with the Ministry of Finance. The latter was also in charge of petroleum pricing and the representation of government interests in Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited. The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, on the other hand was responsible for the development and management of wood fuel. In 1983, the ministry was merged with the Department of Regional Development of the Ministry of Regional Development, Science and Technology to form the Ministry of Energy and Regional Development. But already in 1988 the ministry was split again into the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Regional Development.

Organisation

As of November 2013, the Minister of Energy is Kiraitu Murungi. He is served by Assistant Minister Charles Keter, and Permanent Secretary Patrick Nyoke. The ministry is subdivided into four core departments: the Electrical Power Development Department, the Geo-Exploration Department, the Renewable Energy Department and Petroleum Energy Department. To handle its everyday tasks, the ministry also has departments for General Administration, Central Planning and Project Monitoring, Finance, Accounts, Human Resource Management, Public Communications, Information Communications Technology, Human Resource Development and Procurement.

As part of the Petroleum Energy Department, the Minister of Energy constituted an inter-ministerial committee called the National Fossil Fuels Advisory Committee (NAFFAC) to negotiate with interested investors on the licensing of petroleum blocks for exploration and production.

Functions

According to the ministry's homepage, its main responsibilities include the following:

• Energy policy development
• Hydropower development
• Geothermal exploration and development
• Thermal power development
• Development of import, export and marketing policies with respect to petroleum products
• Renewable energy development
• Energy regulation, security and conservation
• Fossil fuels exploration and development
• Rural electrification

The ministry also has an oversight role in the following state-owned and statutory bodies:

• Kenya Power and Lighting Company Limited (KPLC)
• Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited (KPRL)
• Kenya Electricity Generating Company Limited (KenGen)
• National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK)
• Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC)
• Kenyan Energy Regulatory Commission
• Rural Electrification Authority (REA)
• Energy Tribunal
• Geothermal Development Company (GDC)
• Kenya Electricity Transmitting Company (KETRACO)