The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Manitoba Hydro International (MHI) of Canada f o r joint exploration and bidding for electricity business opportunities in Africa .
The memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed Tuesday by KPLC Managing Director, Joseph Njoroge and MHI’s Managing Director Nigel Wills, highlighted contracting
management and technical services to other utilities and countries in the region
for mutual benefit of the two companies.
“The MoU heralded another working relationship between KPLC and MHI, a power uti lity firm, which will integrate and synergize experiences and ultimately enhance
our respective financial performances,” said Njoroge.
According to him, besides providing an additional revenue stream for the company , the partnership will afford KPLC staff who work on such projects the requisite
international experience and practices, which they could eventually bring back t o the company.
“This is an excellent opportunity to benchmark with global standards as our staf f will be exposed through training at MHI and out of working with their staff on
international projects,” he underscored.
The cooperation agreement is also expected to elevate the status of the Kenyan p ower firm as an active and authoritative player in the power sector outside the n ational boundaries.
KPLC contracted MHI to offer management services to the company for two years, b etween June 2006 and June 2008, a relationship that was beneficial to the two co m panies.
Expressing enthusiasm for the partnership, Wills said solutions to unique challe nges faced by utilities in Africa should be sourced from other utilities in the r egion, like KPLC, which have a better social, cultural and economic situational u nderstanding of the regional markets.
He noted that huge amounts of donor funds were being channeled to various utilit ies in the continent to improve respective infrastructures and increase access, a dding that MHI and KPLC had the requisite capacity, experience and solutions to s uccessfully and professionally deliver such projects.
Wills said during its two-year stint, MHI recognised that KPLC had indisputable strengths and skills among its technical and management staff, which alongside t h e international expertise of MHI they could jointly leverage to provide sound so l utions to challenges faced by utilities in Africa.
