Gulf Energy Thermal Power Station


Gulf Energy Thermal Power Station, also Athi River Thermal Power Station, is an, heavy fuel oil-fired thermal power station in Kenya.
This power station is one of about a dozen heavy fuel-fired power stations which offer the country backup capacity as standby plants that come on-line quickly, if and when geothermal and weather-dependent hydro-power fail to provide adequate supply to the national grid.

Location

The power station is located in the town of Athi River, approximately southeast of Nairobi, the capital and largest city of Kenya, along the Nairobi–Mombasa Road.
The coordinates of the power station are 1°27'30.0"S, 37°00'14.0"E.

Overview

The power station is owned and operated by Gulf Power Limited, a special purpose vehicle company created to own and operate the business. GPL is in turn owned by a consortium of independent power developers, including Gulf Energy Limited and Noora Power Limited, two companies incorporated in Kenya. In January 2019, Britam Holdings Limited, through its subsidiary, Britam Asset Managers Kenya Limited, acquired a stake in Gulf Energy Limited for a KSh1.4 billion consideration.
The power generated by this power station is sold to Kenya Power and Lighting Company under a 20-year power purchase agreement, which expires in December 2034.

Financing

This power station received funding from several international financiers including as illustrated in the table below:
RankName of LenderLoan Amount Percentage of Total
1International Finance Corporation21.719.38
2Standard Bank of South Africa21.719.38
3OPEC Fund for International Development31.628.21
4Gulf Power Limited37.0 29.64
Total112.00100.00