Kenya power to spend Sh1b on new connections

From (L) Cyrus Njenga, Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davies Chirchir and KPLC CEO Ben Chumo during Boresha umeme initiative which entails master repair works on existing power substations, extensions of existing power network and replacing of wooden poles to concrete poles. Photos by WILLIS AWANDU/STANDARD

The funds will be spent under the ongoing "Boresha Umeme Viwandani" power upgrade project

Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir has reaffirmed the Government's commitment to connect electricity to primary schools by next year.

Chirchir said they had already mapped out 3,000 primary schools to be connected to the national grid while 3,000 more will be powered using solar panels.

"The schools that will be using solar will be connected to the grid progressively over the next five years," Chirchir said yesterday at a press briefing at the Kenya Power headquarters in Nairobi. He was speaking on the ongoing upgrades by the company, which are expected to address the issue of recurrent power back-outs in major towns.

Kenya Power Managing Chief Executive Officer Ben Chumo said they were spending Sh1 billion under the "Boresha Umeme Viwandani" power upgrade project, with work already completed in eight major towns.

"Already Sh900 million has been used and we will be moving to Homabay in the coming weekend, after which we will go to Eldoret, Nakuru and Nyeri and finally Kisii," said Dr Chumo.

Renovations done in Mombasa, Kisumu, Meru, Thika, Busia, Kitui, Bungoma and Namanaga included master repair work on existing power substations, extension of existing power network, creation of additional transformation and distribution capacity and creation of new dedicated lines to industrial customers.

Chumo said there had been a notable improvement in service delivery in the areas and are projecting an increased revenue collection. He also announced that work in Parklands and Westlands had begun at a cost of Sh54 billion.

The scope of work in the areas include replacement of 215 wooden poles to concrete polls, refurbishment of 61 transformers, repair works on 20 cable structures, refurbishment of 2 Kms of high tension lines and 40km of trace maintenance among other upgrades.

The Government is also working on a five-year multi-billion project in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) aimed at increasing connectivity in homes for the current 52 per cent to 72 per cent. The number of connections is expected to increase to between 7 and 8 million up from 2.8 million.

Chirchir also said the plan to reduce the cost of electricity was underway with 140 Megawatts already switched on at Olkaria IV, in a move to attract more investors by reducing the cost of doing business.

Kenya is facing twin pressure of electricity connection and generation. The interconnected installed capacity currently stands at 1,672 MW, including the 120 MW of the emergency capacity, according to electricity distributor, Kenya Power.

The current national interconnected system peak demand is 1,330 MW. The country is banking on several power generation projects, which are currently under implementation to generate more power.