Wandayi says plans underway to curb power outage

Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi during a tour of Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited in Mombasa on September 26, 2024. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

Lodwar town in Turkana county will soon have full power supply, Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has said.

Wandayi announced that plans are underway to complete the extension of a 66Kv power line from Lokichar to Lodwar. He said the line will link Lodwar to the national grid.

The CS assured that the development will be a relief to many people and will end the perennial power outage.

"The tender for this project has been floated, evaluated and is expected to be awarded soon. This will ensure that Lodwar enjoys our largely green grid, thus continuing our trajectory on utilisation of clean energy for the immense benefits," he said.

This comes after traders in Lodwar, stormed the local Kenya Power station, to demand an explanation for the frequent power outage after the town was plunged in darkness for more than a week.

The business community in the region also expressed their frustration over the power outage at the Turkana County Commissioner office.

They threatened to stage protests if the issue is not resolved quickly.

The business community lamented that they have incurred huge losses following the frequent power outage.

On Tuesday, Wandayi said the Ministry is committed to ensure adequate and stable power supply, which is not only vital for social development, but also a key driver of the economy.

"To address the power supply inadequacy in Lodwar in the immediate term, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum will as a matter of priority, take necessary steps to ensure enhancement of generation capacity enough to meet the growing peak demand and cater for supply reserve, to serve the town adequately," he said.

Wandayi attributed the recent power outage to breakdown of one of the generators that supply power to the town.

"On September 23, 2024 one of the generators with a capacity of 1.25 MW broke down thus causing the challenge of inadequate power supply in the area," said Wandayi.
"With the demand above the available generation, there has been load shedding of about 1.1 MW during evening peak periods," he added.

The CS explained that the town is supplied by an off-grid power generation station that comprises five generators with a combined installed capacity of 3.94 MW.
However, he said that the available capacity is less, due to ambient conditions, particularly high temperatures.

Early last month, Wandayi urged Kenyans to be patient as the government works on a three-year plan to ensure stable power supply.

He said Kenyans should not expect a quick solution to power outage.

"Strategy are in place to deal with the electricity outage which will not come in a fortnight. Kenyans should exercise patience as the government works on the challenge," he said.

The CS revealed that the ministry is focusing on short-term and long-term interventions, including pursuing the lifting of the moratorium on Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) and advancing base load projects like hydro and geothermal plants to strengthen the grid.

"The sector is looking into short-term and long-term interventions to address this challenge including bringing onboard private sector capital to supplement Government efforts," he said.

Wandayi revealed that the power outage in the country is as a result of infrastructure failure on energy grid which strain the power supply causing the national grid to suffer major collapse.

"What we are witnessing today has built-up over time and is as a result of sub optimal investment in energy infrastructure," he said.

The CS said he has directed Kenya Power to embark on urgent reform agenda aimed at improving operational efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing service delivery.

As part of the reform agenda, he outlined key areas that Kenya Power must address to ensure long-term sustainability and improved customer satisfaction.

"Time has come for urgent institutional reform. The government is fully committed to transforming Kenya Power into an agile, technology-driven, eco-friendly, and customer-centric institution," he said.