Property owners in Kenya risk a US $10000 fine or one year jail term if they fail to comply with the solar water heaters regulation that was recently introduced by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
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ERC director-general Pavel Oimeke confirmed this and said that the commission is currently carrying out surveillance visits on buildings under construction and random spot checks on existing premises to ensure that they have complied with the rule.
ERC had pushed the deadline for this directive to May 25, 2018 so as to give property owners ample time for compliance.
Use of renewable sources of energy
The idea is to encourage the use of renewable sources of energy in Kenya. Premises with hot water requirements of more than 100 litres per day must be fitted with solar heating systems. The affected consist of domestic houses with at least three bedrooms, colleges and boarding schools with 20 or more students and hotels, hostels and lodges with at least four beds.
Others include restaurants that serve at least 20 meals a day and laundries that handle more than 20kgs of clothes.
The regulations prohibit Kenya Power from connecting electricity to any of the property owners that fail to install solar panels on their buildings.
The Energy Regulatory Commission has several objectives and functions which include regulating the electrical energy, petroleum and related products, renewable energy and other forms of energy.
