Kenya Power is hoping to construct 36 new substations around the country in a bid to expand the power distribution. The company is also hoping to implement a master plan that will guide distribution of power at the county level in order to provide power reliably. The news of the investment plan was made public late last month through a statement from the company.
Already, the power distribution company has acquired US$143.4m from the African development bank in order to pursue the last mile connectivity agenda. Out of the 36 substations, 10 will be set up at the coast region.
US$12.1m shillings have already been spent on constructing 19 substations and upgrading programme. Kenya Power will be looking to cutting down power shortages through the project. Already, companies have said that persistent power shortages in the country were hampering investments in the country.
The government of Kenya is pursuing the agenda to add 5, 000MW of power into the grid by 2017 in order to boost the current 1664MW supply. The country has also invested in a number of renewable energy projects, including geothermal power and the recently launched 310MW Lake Turkana wind power farm in the Northern Kenya.
