Theft costs Kenya Power Sh30m a month

• Central Rift regional manager Gerald Othieno said between 20 and 30 transformers are vandalised in the region every month.
• Mr Othieno said Naivasha, Eldama Ravine, Gilgil and slum areas such as Kaptembwa in Nakuru town were the most prone to theft of the equipment.

Vandals in the Central Rift are costing Kenya Power more than Sh30 million a month through theft of transformers.

Regional manager Gerald Othieno said between 20 and 30 transformers are vandalised in the region every month.

“The cost of one transformer is Sh500,000 but if you add other overheads, it means we are now replacing a vandalised transformer at a cost of Sh1 million,” said Mr Othieno.

He was speaking to the Business Daily on the sidelines of the inaugural Kenya Power Open Day in Nakuru on Friday last week.

However, he said, the arrest of one of the masterminds in Nakuru town two weeks ago, had seen the vice reduce drastically.

Mr Othieno said Naivasha, Eldama Ravine, Gilgil and slum areas such as Kaptembwa in Nakuru town were the most prone to theft of the equipment.

Marketing officer Grace Omwenga said the company was targeting to connect 300,000 more customers to the national grid in the next five years.

The company recently received Sh3 billion loan from French lending agency AfD to sale up its connections through Stima Loan. The product launched in June 2010 has benefitted 28,000 customers.
“Following the approval of the funding by AfD we are now set to roll out more connections countrywide as the number of people applying for the Stima loans has increased tremendously in the past two years,” said Ms Omwenga.

The Stima Loan is disbursed directly from the power distributor through Equity Bank and National Bank. Borrowers are lent between Sh35,000 and Sh100,000 which they repay in instalments.

However, Ms Omwenga said the revolving fund was facing challenges including irregular repayments from the beneficiaries who are supposed to clear the loan in 24 months.

She said 1,500 applications are received a month.

The company, which has a customer base of 2.1 million has allocated Sh54 million to the Central Rift.