During a Senate session on Wednesday, November 20, CS for Energy, Joseph Wandayi, addressed concerns over localised power outages, assuring Kenyans that the government has implemented mechanisms to reduce blackout durations.
“I know it has been a long time since we had a national blackout, but for localised blackouts, if and when they occur, we have put in place an elaborate system and mechanism to ensure the response time is as short as possible,” Wandayi said.
While he did not directly mention load shedding, Wandayi attributed most of the localised outages to environmental and infrastructural challenges. “These localised cases can be attributed to many factors, some of which involve vegetative growth, trees growing and sprouting along the road,” he explained.
The CS also pointed out that growing populations and infrastructural constraints in electricity distribution contribute to sporadic blackouts. To address this, the government is implementing complementary projects aimed at ensuring an adequate and consistent energy supply across the country.
Wandayi defended the government’s efforts, emphasising that its main goal is to maintain a reliable power supply nationwide.
This comes after President William Ruto acknowledged on November 5 that the government is forced to implement load shedding between 5 pm and 10 pm in certain areas. Ruto explained that this measure is necessary to maintain the stability of the national grid amid increasing energy demands.
“Today in Kenya, between 5 pm and 10 pm, we have to do load-shedding. We have to shut off some areas to power other areas because our energy is insufficient. One data center requires 1,000 megawatts, but we only have 2,300 megawatts,” Ruto said.
The President further highlighted the urgent need for substantial energy investments, estimating that over Ksh 1 trillion is required to boost Kenya’s power capacity to at least 5,000 megawatts. He stressed the importance of building large-scale projects, including 50 megadams such as High Grand Falls Dam and Soin Koru Dam, to meet the country’s industrial and manufacturing energy needs.
With both government and presidential interventions, Kenyans can expect gradual improvements in energy reliability, although long-term solutions will require significant infrastructure development.
