‘No More Unusual Blackouts!’ – CS Wandayi Assures Kenyans After National Blackout
Just one day after the recent statewide power outage, which affected millions of people, Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi promised Kenyans that the government will always ensure that power outages are repaired as soon as possible.
Wandayi stated that the administration will work to address outages as quickly and efficiently as possible in the future.
He was addressing in the Yatta constituency for the commissioning and launch of the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC) projects.
The CS also thanked Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) for moving quickly to resolve the outage, despite the odd hours.
The CS also indicated that the most recent power loss was caused by a technical issue with the Tanzania-Kenya interconnector.
“As a matter of fact, the frequency of blackouts has gone down, and even in those few instances where there are blackouts, we have taken the shortest time to restore power,” Wandayi stated.
The frequency of blackouts has considerably gone down – CS Opiyo Wandayi pic.twitter.com/oTDMy0TgIt
— Kenyans.co.ke (@Kenyans) December 19, 2024
Wandayi also informed Kenyans that the government is working around the clock to end the ongoing power disruptions.
“We as a Ministry, REREC, and the KPLC are up to speed so that Kenyans should be rest assured that there will be no unusual power outages.”
Wandayi’s words came against the backdrop of the latest power outage, which was reminiscent of one that occurred in September of this year when a portion of the country was left in darkness for the majority of the night.
At the time, the CS, who had recently taken office, was under pressure to explain the origin of the crisis and outline the government’s attempts to address it.
In the last outage, he informed Kenyans that it was caused by a trip on the Suswa substation powerline, which serves a majority of the country’s supply infrastructure.
“The tripping of the Suswa line was followed by the failure of the Ethiopia-Kenya 500kV interconnector, which was carrying 200MW at the time,” stated Wandayi.
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This twin blow resulted in the loss of 488MW, or 27.3 percent of Kenya’s total electrical generation at the time, leaving most of the country in darkness.
Kenya is currently under financial pressure to restore its old electrical infrastructure, and the government is looking to engage financiers, including private partners, to assist fund the projects.
According to government data, Kenya’s power infrastructure is currently based on renewable energy.
Renewables account for nearly 80% of electricity generation, with geothermal accounting for 47% and hydroelectric (HEP) accounting for 30%. Wind and solar also contribute approximately 13%.
‘No More Unusual Blackouts!’ – CS Wandayi Assures Kenyans After National Blackout
