Kenya Power set for board restructuring

By Peter Ochieng

Kenya Power has approved major restructuring at the company’s board level.

The move was arrived at, during Kenya Power Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held Friday, November 10, 2023.

The virtual meeting presided over Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Joy Brenda-Mdivo Masinde, was attended by among others, the company's shareholders.

Being a majority shareholder, the government was given the nod to appoint five directors to Kenya Power Board. Shareholders will likewise see the stakeholders vote to elect four more directors.

"Currently, the government holds 50.09% of the company's shares. In line with the approved amendments, the government, who is the majority shareholder, will appoint five directors while the remaining shareholders will elect four directors," stated the company.

“The proposed changes are aimed at enhancing good governance practices, in the process of transforming the company into a commercially viable entity operating on commercial principles,” Joy Brenda Masinde.

“As company, we take environmental, social, and governance issues seriously,” added Joseph Siror, company Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Kenya Power is frequently in the news for blackouts that affect businesses across the country. In August, the country witnessed a major blackout that affected various government installations, among them hospitals and Kenya’s main airport – Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

The airport was plunged into darkness for at least two hours, as Kenyans reported power outages across the country including in Nairobi, Rift Valley, Nyanza, Mt Kenya and Western Kenya regions on Friday night, August 25th, 2023.

The power company linked the blackout to loss of bulk power supply to various parts of the country due to a system disturbance.