The National Treasury on Thursday announced that it had secured a Ksh11.7 billion loan (Eur 82.5 million) from the French government to fund the construction of the National System Control Centre.
In the deal signed by Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi and his Energy and Petroleum Counterpart Opiyo Wandayi, the multi-billion National System Control Centre will boost electricity supply capacity and integrity across the country. The move would help end the frequent power blackouts recently witnessed in Kenya.
“CS John Mbadi and French Ambassador to Kenya Arnaud Suquettoday signed an €82.5 million loan agreement for the construction of a National System Control Centre,” The Treasury announced. Among other stakeholders who attended the event include Transport Minister Davis Chirchir.
Most Kenyans are grappling with increased cases of power outages and low supply of electricity in some parts of the country, a situation Kenya Power attributed to a worn-out and dilapidated power network.
CS Opiyo Wandayi (Middle) during the inspection of Kenya Pipeline Company’s oil and gas handling infrastructure in Mombasa, 26 September 2024.
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Opiyo Wandayi
During a recent media briefing, Energy CS James Wandayi disclosed the government’s intention to expand power supply by improving the energy infrastructure despite the numerous challenges facing the sector. The CS, in particular, attributed the challenge to financial constraints.
“We appreciate the challenges that could still be there. If we work together, we will be able to enhance our velocity for us to realize the potential of the country in terms of energy and transmission and eventually the cost to the consumer in the shortest time possible,” Wandayi stated.
“I’m happy to announce a great achievement in the electricity sector. We are aware that our Nairobi and Mombasa electricity consumers have been enduring blackouts and power disruptions, and this will not happen again,” the CS told the press.
Wandayi who took office in late August has been on the spot in recent weeks over frequent power outages that attracted criticism from the public. In August and September alone, the country was hit by two major blackouts.
The first one occurred on August 30 and affected several parts of the country, except sections of the North Rift and Western region. The second one hit the country on September 6. Govt officials attributed the second blackout to a partial collapse of the national grid which the energy minister explained stemmed from a hitch at the Suswa substation.
Meanwhile, the latest loan acquisition to boost electric supply comes barely three days after the government announced that independent electricity producers would soon be allowed to sell power directly to Kenyans.
Opiyo Wandayi while commenting on the matter clarified that the Electric Market, Bulk Supply and Open Market Draft Regulations were being fine-tuned before the permit was issued to private power companies.
According to the Draft Regulations by the Energy Petroleum and Regulatory Authority (EPRA), a license issued will be valid for 20 years. The new regulations cover various aspects including generation, importation, exportation, transmission, distribution, and retail supply.
Kenya Power engineers repair a collapsed pylon.
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Kenya Power
