ERC tells building owners to be ready to pay Sh1m fine should they fail to install solar panels

All new buildings are required to be fitted with solar panels by May 25 to reduce the reliance on electricity from the national grid. [PHOTO: FILE]

By JECKONIA OTIEN0

NAIROBI, KENYA: With just three months before the law that compels owners of new buildings to install solar panels for water heater takes effect, an organisation that represents owners of new homes is becoming jittery.

The Consumer Federation of Kenya (COFEK), which claims it is speaking on behalf of new home owners, says consumers who have already constructed buildings should not be forced to fit photovoltaic panels. However, those who are already in the process of construction should be encouraged to comply with this law, Cofeks’s Secretary General Stephen Mutoro says. “We should, however, be cautious that it does not become too expensive and turns out to be a burden to investors because in the long run the cost will be passed on to the consumer,” says Mutoro.

The Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) has directed that homes and buildings that are likely to consume more than 100 litres of water must fit solar panels before May 25, 2014. The directive that came into force in May 2012, now known as the Energy (Solar Water Heating) Regulations 2012, is likely to affect fittings in residences, hotels and guest houses that have hot water facilities. Buildings that existed before the directive came into force were given five years—May 25, 2017—to comply.

Those who do not comply will face severe sanctions— they may be fined up to Sh1 million or face a jail term not exceeding one year, the ERC warns.

Furthermore, the ERC may direct the Kenya Power and Lighting Company to cease supplying electricity to buildings that do not have solar panels. To ensure that building owners have fitted these panels, the ERC will license those who design and install solar panels in addition to vendors, distributors and contractors dealing in solar equipment.

By January 2014, there were just three companies that had been licensed as photovoltaic contractors in Kenya, and whether or not they meet national demand if the rule is enforced only time will tell.

The Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK) is excited at the new direction electricity regulation is taking with its chairman Waweru Gathecha saying the country must be ready to adapt green energy and exploit solar power which is readily available.

“The market uptake of solar energy has been slow even though it is readily available . . . this is a progressive policy that will help Kenya tap an energy source that is abundant,” says Gathecha. Luckily for home owners, only minor structural changes to buildings will be required before the fittings that can be placed on the roof or ground, Gathecha notes. As long as the building was properly designed then there would be no problem fixing these panels, he says.

The use of renewable sources of energy is now widely encouraged as the non-renewable sources of energy derived from fossil fuels dwindle. Also diminishing due to climate change are water resources used to generate electricity from hydro.

These factors forced a rethink of Kenya’s energy use policy. Today, a government programme that began in 2005 as a project to supply basic energy to boarding schools and health facilities in rural areas has triggered demand for photo-voltaic panels and is likely to boost investment in solar energy.

About 450 out of 3,000 eligible institutions have been fitted with solar panels that can gener-ate 1,450 kilowatts of energy during peak periods. The ERC expects another 400 institutions to be fitted with panels with a capacity of about 80 kilowatts of energy during peak periods.

Its work has been supported by other global networks.

The United Nations, through various agencies, is working with key stakeholders to push for the conversion to green energy.

The United Nations Environ-mental Programme (UNEP) notes that increased reliance on renewable sources of energy is a key to mitigating against the effects of climate change that are triggered by the high volume of pollutants.

However, the global agency laments that the exploitation of renewable energy sources is still insignificant owing to a range of barriers that hamper the widespread deployment of new technologies. But when governments intervene, the adaption of renewable energy technologies increase significantly.

Local suppliers of energy in Kenya are not worried that the adaption of solar energy will erode their customer base. Kenya Power communication manager Theuri Migwi says the adaption of solar energy will reduce the reliance on power from the national grid and mitigate against the effects of excess demand.

The country must, therefore, invest in other sources of energy to meet growing demand and allow electricity from the national grid to be diverted to industrial use.

Often during Kenya’s cyclical drought seasons, electricity production banks on the use of diesel to run power turbines due to low water levels and this increases production costs that are ultimately passed on to the consumers.

Manufacturers pay the price of increased cost of production. However, when power is conserved, and the reliance on diesel turbines minimised, manufacturers can produce goods more cheaply and the economy can benefit from the spill over effect.

Kenya Power is not worried about the loss of customers to other energy sources, says Migwi.

As more consumers transfer to solar energy, there are more new connections everyday that boost the demand for power, he says.

This demand for power has to be well managed, authorities say. The ERC is chiefly concerned with stabilising power supply and minimising outages. Like UNEP, it says that when power is conserved it can be directed at other more productive uses.

UNEP’s Executive Director Achim Steiner says: “Countries that move from fuelled lighting systems to solar power could save billions of dollars per year.”

The agency estimates that 1.3 billion people who do not have access to electric light globally pay a combined $23 billion (Sh1.9 trillion) per year on kerosene.

It says that with the development of solar power, the excess demand of the scarce electricity resource will be eased somewhat.

“Replacing the world’s 670 million kerosene lamps with cleaner, safer solar-powered lighting represents a major opportunity to deliver across multiple fronts, from cuts in global carbon emissions to health risks from indoor air pollution, support for green technologies and the generation of green jobs,” says Steiner.

But there are more pressing reasons to move away from fossil-based fuels.

The more widespread use of solar energy can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 2.3 million tonnes every year, UNEP says.