System repairs cut power losses 11.5pc

Power losses from the national grid dropped 11.5 per cent last year compared to 2013, data from Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows.

KNBS data shows in 2014 power lost due to distribution system weaknesses stood at 1.66 billion kilowatt hours (units), compared to 2013 losses of 1.87 billion units.

There was a reduction in losses despite an increase in total power generated from 8.44 billion units to 9.07 billion units over the period.

The power distributor has been investing billions of shillings over the past one year to repair a creaking distribution system. An International Energy Agency (IEA) report released in January says the poor system plunges households and factories into blackout for an average 25 days yearly.

Kenya Power managing director Ben Chumo said the company has been changing the metering system for domestic users and has now deployed up to one million harder to bypass prepaid meters. It has also been carrying out checks on the consumption patterns of its industrial and business customers by assigning managers to specific accounts to check losses, he said.

“We have changed a lot of 25 millimetre conductors with 100 and 150 millimetre lines, changed wooden poles with concrete ones and repaired loose connections. We have carried out 30 such major operations across the country so far and it is an ongoing process.

“For the 200 large industrial customers the offsite metering is in place, and we have been able to provide 145 of them with alternative source lines which mean that in case of outage or maintenance they don’t suffer any downtime in supply,” said Dr Chumo.

The company and the World Bank are also targeting 150,000 households in informal settlements with a subsidised power connection that costs Sh1,160. In the plan, the World Bank will pay $225 (Sh19,350) while Kenya Power will contribute Sh11.970 towards the Sh35,000 required to connect a domestic customer.

READ: Kenya Power targets slums with subsidy

Illegal connections in slums have contributed to electricity losses and an unstable grid. So far, 30,000 customers have been connected under the plan. Total power sales in 2014, according to the KNBS data, stood at 6.93 billion units, an increase of 13 per cent compared to the previous year.

In its financial results for the full year ending June 2014, Kenya Power had reported sales revenues of Sh62.6 billion, up from Sh47.91 billion to June 2013.

The reduction in system losses accelerated in the second half of 2014, meaning that the company is likely to see some benefit passed on through sales revenue for the first half of its current financial year.

The company reported that power loss costs were at 18.1 per cent of revenue to June 2014, down from 18.6 per cent a year earlier.

The company plans to spend up to Sh52 billion this financial year to upgrade its systems, with part of the funds going towards building of an additional 29 substations, automation of the system and new distribution lines.

READ: Kenya Power secures Sh17b loan for infrastructure upgrade

Businesses are also in line to benefit from the reduced downtime in power supply, with the unstable supply partly blamed for a shift in manufacturing to other countries that offer cheaper and stable power such as Egypt.

According to an IEA report, power failures averaging two days a month rank Kenya eighth on the list of African countries that suffer the longest duration of electricity outages and power losses.

READ: Kenya Power plunges firms, households into darkness 25 days a year

“The use of back-up power generation to mitigate poor grid-based supply increases costs for businesses. Relative to grid supply, back-up power generation is expensive,” said IEA executive director Maria van der Hoeven.

According to IEA, small and mid-sized (SME) companies suffer the most since they cannot afford diesel-fuelled back-up generators.