Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote announced on 25 September that he will make 500 MW of electricity from a 1 000 MW plant at his planned Lamu refinery available to the Kenyan government.

The proposal was made during President William Ruto’s visit to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos, ahead of a scheduled groundbreaking for the Kenyan project on 30 September.

Kenya Power (KPLC) is leading talks on a power purchase agreement, but key terms such as price, gas supply and financing remain unresolved.

Why the extra capacity matters

The plant was originally designed as a 500 MW captive facility for refinery operations, but Kenya has asked Dangote to double capacity to 1 000 MW, allowing half of the output to feed the national grid as baseload power.

Kenya’s electricity mix relies heavily on hydropower, which falters during droughts, and on intermittent wind and solar; a steady‑state source would address a structural weakness in supply.

The expanded plant is expected to run on liquefied natural gas imported from Tanzania, potentially reviving the stalled Kenya‑Tanzania gas pipeline agreement of 2021.

Pending steps before construction

Construction of the power plant cannot begin until the power purchase agreement, fuel source choice, gas logistics, financing and environmental approvals are finalised.

Kenya’s government is also discussing a 10 % equity stake in the refinery project, valued at roughly KSh 64.7 billion (US$500 million).