The Board of Directors of the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), in a sitting on Friday appointed Abraham Serem as Managing Director and CEO in an acting capacity.

Serem was picked to replace Rebecca Miano, who was appointed the Cabinet Secretary for East African Community (EAC), Arid and Semi-Arid Lands, and Regional Development.

Before his appointment as Acting MD and CEO, Serem served as KenGen General Manager of Human Resources and Administration since March 1, 2016, when he joined the company.

He has been tasked with overseeing the transition of the listed company at a time Kenya is facing reforms steered by the President William Ruto administration after the August poll.

Abraham Serem. PHOTO/KENGEN

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KenGen Board Chairman, General (Rtd) Samson Mwathethe commended Miano for what he described as an exemplary and stellar performance during her tenure at the power firm.

“Mrs Miano led KenGen through an action-packed phase of steady growth, which continued over the duration of her leadership, putting KenGen firmly on an upward trajectory,” Mwathethe said.

He added, “Her biggest test was perhaps the COVID-19 pandemic which threatened energy utilities across the world, but she was able to steady the ship and deliver good results, even at the peak of COVID-19 restrictions.”

General (Rtd) Samson Mwathethe. PHOTO/KENGEN

He hailed Miano for unlocking KenGen’s diversification strategy and rolling out several multimillion-shilling drilling consultancy projects in the region, especially the in the Horn of Africa including Ethiopia and Djibouti, where KenGen has active geothermal drilling projects.

“We will also remember Mrs Miano for her role in championing KenGen’s position in the climate action campaign, not only locally, but also going all out to put the company on the global map,” he noted.

General (Rtd) Mwathethe exuded confidence that the trend set by Miano will continue into the transition period and beyond, noting that the company had put in place a robust succession plan which has enabled it to have a smooth change in leadership over the years.

Rebecca Miano. 

Miano is the fifth to exit KenGen since the energy sector reforms instigated in 1997 when the generation side of Kenya Power was hived off from the off-taker and renamed KenGen.

Currently, KenGen has an installed generation capacity of 1,904MW, over 86 per cent being drawn from green sources; Hydro (826MW), Geothermal (799MW), Thermal (253MW), and Wind (25.5MW).