Error with bulk supply transmission line causes Power outage in Kenya

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A problem from the bulk supply transmission line at the Juja substation in the outskirts of Nairobi causes Power outage in Kenya for the better part of Thursday.

According to a statement from Kenya Power the fault occurred around 4:30pm on Thursday, affecting electricity supply to the Nairobi, Mount Kenya and Coast regions.

However, the power system to the Central Rift, North Rift and western parts of Kenya was not affected by the power outage in Kenya that led to a national outcry both in the media and social media platform as they are served mainly from the Sondu Miriu and Turkwel hydro stations.

“The outage occurred following a fault in the bulk supply transmission system at Juja substation in Nairobi. Our technical teams are working to rectify the situation and restore supply to the affected areas,” said Kenya Power in a statement sent out an hour after the blackout hit.

The Juja substation is the main supply point for power from Seven Folks hydro dams and the Olkaria plants.

The substation also suffered the same fault in April 2014, sending almost the whole country into darkness for nearly two hours.

In past incidences, Kenya Power has blamed perpetual power outages on vandalism of its power equipment and an old power distribution system that led to many of its electricity poles fall off during heavy rain seasons.

Last year, Kenya Power announced intentions to invest a total of Sh109 billion in the coming four years towards expansion of its power network and help in reducing power losses.

The investment will comprise of among other aspects, construction of more than 200 substations, installation of additional transformers and construction of low-voltage power distribution lines.

The power outage in Kenya led to big losses especially for business people as many nonoperational closed during the outage.

Sustainable energy in Africa continue to be a a challenge despite several measures to boost electricity in Africa.