• The substation is being constructed in Gatanga and will be completed by the end of next month.
• It will cover 7,000 homesteads and minimize power outages.
The Kenya Power Company is constructing a Sh326 million power substation to boost power supply in Murang’a.
The 7.5 megavolt amperes station will have the capacity to connect 7,000 homesteads to electricity once it is commissioned.
The substation, being constructed in Gataka-ini area in Gatanga subcounty, is 65 per cent done and is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
The project will cover a radius of 40 kilometres and will enhance power output in Gatura area and some parts of Kiambu county.
“The substation will be ready by December 31 and will ensure there is an uninterrupted power supply in the covered areas,” KPC Murang’a manager Harrison Kamau said.
Kamau said that the substation will facilitate the establishment of industries in the area.
The county’s power coverage is 51.1 per cent against KPC’s target to ensure 100 per cent coverage by 2022.
“We are committed to ensuring we attain universal power coverage in Murang’a in 2022 and we are working on projects that will make it happen,” Kamau told members of the County Development Implementation and Coordination Committee who were inspecting the project on Friday.
Last month, the company commissioned a Sh12 million project that uses a new power technology to connect 115 people in Kigumo subcounty.
The project uses single wire earth return (SWER) technology and channels power through only one cable as opposed to the conventional two or more cables.
The company said the technology could be a turning point for power connectivity in the country as it reduces costs of implementation by a third and significantly reduces the time consumed.
Kamau also reiterated that the company is undergoing huge losses due to massive vandalism of streetlights in the county.
Many towns have experienced mass vandalism of the streetlights that plunges them into darkness, grinding businesses to a halt at night.
The vandalism has also been blamed on increased incidences of burglary.
Kamau cited Murang’a town where entire streets have been left in darkness as vandals steal the lights every time they are replaced.
Murang’a county commissioner Mohammed Barre pleaded with locals to give information on the vandals and warned that culprits will be apprehended.