How Ketraco plans to end power outages

NAIROBI: The Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) has announced that Nairobi County will experience reduced power outages in the near future. This will be after the firm constructs a new substation at Mariakani that can withstand the more than 2000 megawatts of power produced.

“The endeavour to end power outages in the city will be accomplished through a 400/220kV substation at Mariakani, whose construction contract was awarded to CAMCE China by Ketraco on January 26, 2015,” said Ketraco Managing Director Fernandes Barasa Wednesday. The substation has been funded by the African Development Bank at a cost of Sh2.7 billion.

The project’s completion will see more power delivered to Nairobi and its environs through the company’s Mombasa-Nairobi line. The Mariakani substation is an essential part of this line as it steps up the power evacuated at Rabai Power Plant, whose power rating is 1500MW.

Ketraco said the Mariakani substation will in the near future form part of the Dongo Kundu-Mariakani line, a 5000+ MW project that will see the evacuation of 700MW liquefied natural gas from Dongo Kundu plant directed to the national grid. Recently Nairobi was hit by a major outage. KenGen Managing Director Albert Mugo blamed Ketraco for the outages.