Sh84bn needed for power line upgrade

Kenya’s wanting power distribution network has again come into sharp focus following a glitch that plunged the country into darkness for four hours on Sunday night.

The country’s distribution monopoly Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) blamed the blackout on a transmission fault that shocked the national grid now more dependent on sensitive fuel-based electricity offered by emergency generators.

KPLC said the fault was between Kamburu substation at the Seven Forks Hydro power project and the Dandora substation, in Nairobi.

The managing director of Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO), Joel Kiilu, attributed the interruption to an overload of the system.

He said the company was looking for funds to stabilise the transmission system.

“We need about Sh84 billion ($1,096 million) to construct about 21 high voltage lines,” said Mr Kiilu.

The blackout that started at 6.34 p.m was ameliorated by tapping into the 30 megawatt provision from neighbouring Uganda.

The surge between the two substations caused the Aggreko power station to switch off automatically as a safeguard against damage to the 140 megawatt plant.

“The emergency generators can not withstand much shock as compared to our hydro generators,” said Joseph Njoroge, KPLC’s managing director.

The generator’s reaction forced Embakasi, Nairobi South and Gitaru substations to also switch off, frustrating the demand of 845 megawatts at the time.

Following the power interruption, KPLC had to import about 30 megawatts from Uganda to restore the system.

Although KPLC has not yet analysed the financial impact of the interruption, it does not expect major losses, since Sunday is not a busy day.

“Weekdays are the busiest days due to the commercial utility in the factories,” said Mr Njoroge.

An engineer with the Energy Regulatory Commission, Wasioya Buge, said the emergency generators are not as strong as those for hydro-generation due to the amount of power they produce.