Govt to introduce power rationing to solve frequent outages
Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir (left), flanked by Principal Secretary Alex Wachira, speaks to the media at Kawi House, Nairobi on December 11, 2023 regarding the nationwide power outage that occurred on Sunday, December 10, 2023.
What you need to know:
- The CS said he was also a victim of Sunday's blackout, saying the blackout occurred as he was being cleared at JKIA after he arrived in the country.
- Mr Chirchir said some of the connectivity lines in Western region are overloaded and need to be relieved to reduce cases of blackouts.
The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has identified the main problem behind the frequent blackouts reported in the country, the latest of which occurred on Sunday night paralyzing businesses across the country.
Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir has explained that the outage that was reported on Sunday was caused by an overload between Muhoroni and Kisumu occasioned by a sudden demand against its normal supply, which is 80 Megawatts (MW).
“When the line went down it was carrying 120MW, and suddenly there was a demand of an additional 20MW on that line. For a line to be carrying 149MW when it is designed for 80, it felt threatened and it dripped and cascaded down to the rest of the country,” Chirchir said.
The CS said he was also a victim of Sunday's blackout, saying the blackout occurred as he was being cleared at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport after he arrived in the country.
“I was at the airport when the baggage carousel stopped and we could not get our luggage. It is a challenge that as a country we are ashamed of and we need to address it,” he said.
As a short-term solution to the frequent power outages, the CS said the Ministry of Energy is now considering power rationing, specifically in Nyanza and Western regions.
Mr Chirchir said some of the connectivity lines in Western region are overloaded and need to be relieved to reduce cases of blackouts.
"We will implement it in a very structured way. We will communicate through you (media) and through our leadership to be able to understand which region we will work in. It will be a very limited power rationing and will only happen during peak hour," he said.
The CS also said the government has been connecting electricity to Kenyans for the last six years without investing in the generation of power and transmission.
“There are so many constraints with the transmission of electrons from wherever they are generated and sometimes networks trip when they are overloaded," he said.
When Sunday's incident occurred, there was a demand of 1,732MW and both the Geothermal and Hydro were performing well, same with the supply from Ethiopia.
According to the ministry, 60 percent of electricity had been restored in most parts of the country by 1am, and only Mombasa was still on the restoration process.
The CS said that they have started planning to bring a long-term solution to avoid frequent countrywide blackouts, which is necessitated by the growing number of customers.
This includes building another line, which will support the western line, going from Olkaria through Narok, Bomet and Awendo.
The installation of the new line has already received support from South Korea, and the African Development Bank, and the process has already started. It is expected to be complete within 20 months.
A new sub-station is also being constructed in Sondu, which will further improve the supply and reduce the constraints.
At the same time, it has emerged that Moi International Airport in Mombasa has also been facing frequent power blackouts.
On December 5, 2023 passengers and airport staff were left in darkness for nearly one hour after a power outage in Changamwe area.
The blackout occurred around 6:45pm, forcing passengers who were already past the security check wing to use their phones to illuminate the waiting bay.
Kenya Power later explained that fault occurred at the Mombasa International Airport line and tripped both the utility firm's line and the airport generators.
Additional reporting by Kevin Odit and Wachira Mwangi
