Wandayi promises to lower cost of power, fuel

Energy and petroleum CS Opiyo Wandayi with the outgoing CS Davis Chirchir at Kawi complex in Nairobi after being handed over the office. Wandayi has committed to take the ministry to the people in line with enhancing service delivery in the sector. [Collins Oduor, Standard] Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has promised to bring down the cost of electricity and fuel. Speaking on Wednesday at his Kawi Complex office in Nairobi, Wandayi acknowledged that Kenyans are demanding more affordable electricity and fuel. "As a Kenya Power customer, you expect reliable electricity access. In the event of a blackout or a blown transformer, you want it resolved swiftly. These are the expectations Kenyans have of this ministry, and we must meet them," he said. The CS was speaking after officially taking over the ministry from Davis Chirchir, who was moved to the Roads and Transport docket. Wandayi promised to improve service delivery through Cabinet Secretary roundtable discussions with consumers every two months. "I will be engaging in regular round table discussions with consumers, customer representatives, and consumer groups to ensure we interact and understand the needs of the public," he said. The CS was optimistic that this would ensure continuous feedback and allow the ministry to address issues effectively. He said that the round table concept is aimed ensuring transparency in ministry operations. "The whole idea is to adopt transparency and accountability at the ministry while serving Kenyans," he said. Wandayi called for an open policy that would allow public and parliamentary scrutiny. He promised to work closely with the management to systematically address technical and commercial losses experienced by Kenya Power Company (KPLC). This, he said will in the long term enable KPLC to render services at affordable rates. Chirchir expressed confidence in Wandayi's ability to handle the ministry, saying that the sector requires a lot of planning. "I leave you with my colleague, a friend, for the time we socialised together, and I am sure we will continue to work well together. But very importantly, we need to continue to secure the security of energy and petroleum for this country," he said. Wandayi also commissioned Ketraco Isinya Substation in Kajiado county, which he termed as a relief to electricity consumers in Nairobi and Mombasa counties. The 220/400kV substation is the second biggest after Suswa and is connected to the Olkaria geothermal fields through the Suswa substation. Wandayi noted that the substation has a capacity of 1,000 megawatts with 400 megawats already connected. "Today being my first day in office since my appointment, I am happy to announce a great achievement in electricity sector. We are aware that our Nairobi and Mombasa electricity power consumers have been going through tribulations of black outs and power disruptions, this will not happen again," he said. The CS said that despite the challenges that the sector is facing, he remains optimistic about the projected expansion of Kenya's transmission infrastructure. "We appreciate the challenges that could still be there. There has been slow progress with the speed of implementation of these projects, the biggest challenge we are facing is financing," he said. He appealed to all stakeholders to work together to achieve the goals of reducing the cost to the consumer. "If we work together, we will be able to enhance our velocity for us to realise the potential of the country in terms of energy, transmission and eventually the cost to the consumer in the shortest time possible," said the CS. Wandayi promised to visit other Ketraco substations so as to fully appreciate the investments that have gone into such projects.

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