Energy PS: grid must get smarter as wind and solar grow
Key points
- State Department for Energy and Huawei Kenya hosted the Kenya Energy Transition Forum 2026 in Nairobi.
- PS Alex Wachira: Kenya’s mix already leans on geothermal, hydro, wind and solar — but variable wind/solar needs a more flexible grid.
- “The energy transition is therefore not simply about adding more renewable generation. It is also about modernising the electricity grid.”
- He listed smart grids, forecasting, digitalisation, demand flexibility, power electronics and storage. Attendees included EPRA chair Moses Mabonga and KenGen CEO Peter Njenga.
In a Nairobi conference room the ministry’s line was blunt: more wind farms without a smarter wire is just a flicker waiting to happen. Energy Principal Secretary Alex Wachira told the Kenya Energy Transition Forum 2026, convened with Huawei Kenya, that the country has already built a cleaner mix on geothermal, hydro, wind and solar, The Standard reported.
Variable wind and solar, he said, now force a different job — flexibility, stability, resilience. “The energy transition is therefore not simply about adding more renewable generation. It is also about modernising the electricity grid and transforming the way we plan, operate and manage the power system.” On his list: smart grids, better forecasting, digital operations, demand-side flexibility, power electronics and storage, plus cutting technical and commercial losses. Huawei Kenya deputy CEO for public affairs James Sun Quan pitched grid-forming storage and smart-grid kit as the way to keep the lights steady while more renewables connect. In the room: EPRA chairman Moses Mabonga, KenGen CEO Peter Njenga, and a Huawei delegation. Wachira asked for partnerships and money, not only slides. A forum does not commission a battery — the next budget and grid code will.
A keynote is not a megawatt-hour of storage
Until KenGen and KETRACO publish a storage-and-forecasting capex line, “modernise” is a Huawei-sponsored morning. Households will judge it when evening solar drop-off stops tripping the estate.
Energy desk: Energy & Transport. Verified forum name, Wachira/Sun quotes and named attendees from The Standard.
The ministry should table a 24-month storage target. EPRA should say what grid-code changes follow the forum.
Counties with new wind and solar should ask where the nearest dispatchable backup sits.
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Based on The Standard reporting of the 2026 Energy Transition Forum. No new tariff was announced there.
