• There have been frequent electricity outages in various parts of the county in what KPLC has blamed on faulty transformers.
• Senators lamented frequent power blackouts saying they are causing disruptions and huge losses to businesses and destroying home electronics.
Image: FILE
Energy CS Charles Keter and the management of electricity distribution companies under his ministry have come under fire over frequent power outages across the country.
Senators have taken on the ministry, Kenya Power and Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) over the blackouts allegedly caused by faulty transformers.
They lamented frequent power outages saying they are causing disruptions and huge losses to businesses and destroying home electronics.
There have been frequent electricity outages in various parts of the county in what KPLC has blamed on faulty transformers.
The lawmakers have summoned the CS, Ketraco managing director Fernandes Barasa and his KPLC counterpart Bernard Ngugi to explain the blackouts and why most transformers that were bought at high prices are faulty.
“The matters of transformers is, probably, the biggest scandal,” Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua said while reacting to a statement sought by Nandi's Samson Cherargei on the cause of the outages.
The lawmaker added, “As Kenya Power MD and the CS for Energy appear, they should be accompanied by the MD of Ketraco which is where the problem lies. Thousands of transformers were imported, but they are not functional.”
In the statement sought by Cherargei, the CS and MDs will be questioned on the cause of ‘massive’ electricity blackouts.
They will be required to explain why Kenya Power has failed to reinstall electricity connections in most areas that are experiencing faulty transformers despite complaints.
“They should state the major reasons that have caused the massive faulty transformers (for example in Nandi), 76 are faulty,” the statement reads.
Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang'ula said the CS and the officials should be put to task to explain why employees of Kenya Power Company go to certain places, take away a functioning transformer, and leave the area without power.
“In Bungoma, we have power blackouts from Friday to Monday, every weekend. By the time the power goes off, all your electronics are destroyed, and you live in a blackout,” Wetang'ula said.
Nominated Senator Rose Nyamunga questioned the cause of the outages, saying reports have shown that the country has surplus energy after the government signed a 15-year contract with suppliers of generators in a move to enhance electricity distribution.
“If we have a surplus of energy and we can use cheaper means of getting energy, why should we stick to KPLC?” she asked.
Senator Judith Pareno claimed that more than 19 electricity transformers have been stolen in Kajiado county.
“To date, some of the transformers have not been replaced and we were not told who stole them. It will be good to summon them so that they can explain the pending issues,” she said.
Speaker Kenneth Lusaka ordered the house Energy Committee chaired by Nyeri Senator Ephraim Maina to immediately summon the CS and his officers to appear before all senators (committee of the whole house) to explain the causes of the frequent power outages.
Edited by R.Wamochie