Kenya Power system losses at new high on ageing grid
A Kenya Power technician fixes a transmission line. The firm struggles to plug leaks that deny it millions of shillings in potential revenue.
What you need to know:
- System losses refer to the difference between electricity bought from producers and what is sold to customers.
A reduction in system losses is key to protecting gains made from increased electricity sales.
Electricity losses by Kenya Power rose to 23.65 per cent in December 2024 from 23.16 per cent in June—the highest level in at least a year, and capturing the struggles to plug leaks that deny the firm millions of shillings in potential revenue.
System losses refer to the difference between electricity bought from producers and what is sold to customers and are expressed as a percentage of the net units of power generated.
A reduction in system losses is key to protecting gains made from increased electricity sales.
“The system losses as of December 2024 were 23.65 per cent. KPLC has targeted to reduce the losses further by the end of the financial year as aligned in the strategic plan,” the utility firm said in a response to queries on its power system losses.
“There are also grid-level projects being implemented by Ketraco that target to reduce transmission on the long 132 kilovolts (kV) lines. We are completing key projects for system reinforcement and load balancing to reduce technical losses in the short term.”
Kenya Power has blamed the struggles to lower system losses on extensive use of distribution lines to serve as transmission lines, given that the lower the voltage the higher the system losses. Theft of electricity especially in informal settings is also driving the losses.
The high rate of system losses is derailing Kenya Power’s efforts to drive sales and profits, given that the utility firm is not allowed to recover the losses from consumers whenever they exceed the rate which is set by the energy regulator. Currently, the allowable losses are 18.5 per cent.
System losses are classified into technical and commercial losses. The former are proportionate to the effectiveness of the transmission and distribution network, while latter are caused by factors such as power supply to illegal connections and meter tampering.
Kenya Power has for decades grappled with an ageing network, which has been cited as a major cause of electricity losses. The utility has been unable to carry out a revamp due to financial constraints.
The firm’s electricity sales grew five per cent to 5,506 Gigawatt-hours (GWh) in the half year ended December 2024 from 5,225 GWh in the same period a year earlier.
However the sales could have been higher had the system losses been lower, underscoring why lowering the amount of electricity that Kenya Power buys but is unable to sell is critical to growing sales.
Kenya Power posted a net profit of Sh9.97 billion in the half-year ended December 2024, marking a jump of over 30 times from the Sh319 million net profit posted in previous period.