Diversify sources of power to end outages

Kenya: Last Monday, the country experienced a blackout that lasted for over three hours. A reported system malfunction at the Coast region triggered the power outage across the country.

Industries, and indeed all aspects of our lives are heavily dependent on electricity. The cost of power failures is therefore too high.

During the period of inactivity after power supply fails, industrial production goes down, occasioning great financial losses to companies who must still pay salaries and other overheads at the end of the day.

Often, there is damage to machines due to power surges from unregulated voltages. In hospitals not fitted with generators, patients connected to life support machinery have lost their lives due to power failures. Crime also thrives in the dark. And the environment is polluted as a result of fumes from generators. These are losses that prudent management of our natural resources can preclude.

Policy makers should lay emphasis on alternative energy sources, especially clean energy. Our sunny weather is well suited for solar energy.

The use of solar panels should be encouraged through the provision and supply of panels that are affordable to many. Because maintenance costs are not a factor, this will go a long way in powering homes that would otherwise have no access to electrical supply from the national power grid. The wind turbines would also come in very handy once sensitisation on their effectiveness is done.

Already, Kenya is leading in the region in the harnessing of geothermal energy.

Tapping the geothermal energy available in great quantities in the Rift Valley can ensure a steady supply while keeping our environment clean. Within the changing climatic conditions, the gradual death of rivers, hydropower is becoming increasingly erratic and unreliable. And that calls for diversification to other sources of power that are cleaner and cheap.