Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir (centre) toured Masinga and Kamburu Dams on Friday. [Murithi Mugo, Standard]

He said the government will soon commission the eastern power link to Ethiopia, which is currently dispatching 200MW from Ethiopia.

The CS expressed fears that if the low water levels continue till March, there will be no other option than to shut down the Masinga plant.

"In the likely event that we get near the levels of 1,036 metres above sea level at the Masinga Dam, we may have no alternative but to stop the machines in line with our standard operating procedures and best practices in hydropower plant operation and maintenance," he said.

"The only challenge is that we might get power being slightly expensive because we are ramping up the diesel more than we ordinarily should be doing." Chirchir said Kenya is fairly diverse, unlike Zambia and Uganda which rely almost 100 per cent on hydroelectricity.