The report that Kenya Power is taking more than eight hours on average to restore electricity after a blackout exposes not only the loss-making firm to compensation claims from customers but also has a costly impact on the battered Kenyan economy.
According to the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) data, November 2022 was the worst in nearly two years after outages lasted 10.63 hours on average, prompting households and factories to seek costlier alternatives.
The electricity supply shortfalls are blamed on ageing transmission infrastructure due to the long period of under-investment amid a growing consumer demand.
The dilapidated network increases the maintenance costs, prompting the utility, grappling with thinning cash flows, to seek higher electricity tariffs to revamp the lines and boost the power quality.
Having steep electricity bills when the cost of living is sinking thousands of Kenyans deeper into poverty is ill-advised.
The unreliable power supply disrupts businesses and reduces efficiency and productivity in the economy, limiting growth and innovation. Worse yet is the safety risk old lines pose to workers, the public and the environment.
For how much longer will the government take to revamp the ageing infrastructure?
The authorities should prioritise upgrading the transmission network to boost capacity and stem system losses, reduce safety risks, and lower costs for customers, particularly manufacturers, to spur job creation and productivity.
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