Kenya Power
Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary James Opiyo Wandayi has revealed that the nationwide power outage experienced on Friday was caused by a trip at the Loiyangalani transmission line.
In a statement, Wandayi said the 220kV High Voltage transmission line tripped at the Suswa substation while evacuating 288MW from the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) plant.
The trip was followed by another trip on the Ethiopia – Kenya 500kV DC interconnector that was then carrying 200MW, resulting in a total loss of 488MW. The total demand in the system at the time was 1790 MW.
“The loss of 488MW, accounting for 27.3% of the total generation, resulted in cascade failure and partial collapse of the grid. This affected most regions of the country except parts of Western Kenya, which was supported by supply through the interconnector to Tororo, Uganda,” said Wandayi.
According to the Energy CS, restoration efforts commenced immediately and in earnest, and as of 11.30 am this morning, power supply was normalized to parts of North Rift, Central Rift, Nairobi, and Mount Kenya regions.
Wandayi also said a team from KETRACO has been dispatched to inspect the transmission power line while the restoration efforts are progressing.
“As of now about 70% of the country has been restored and we are fast-tracking the restoration process for the rest of the country and we will be taking more loads. as generation picks and we expect normalcy by late this afternoon,” Wandayi stated.
He went on to say the recent nationwide power outages have built up over time and are a result of sub-optimal investment in energy infrastructure.
“The sector is looking into short-term and long-term interventions to address this challenge including bringing onboard private sector capital to supplement Government efforts,” Wandayi added.
This was the second major blackout in under a week, raising concerns about the country’s energy infrastructure.
On Friday night, August 30, Kenya Power announced an outage of electricity in most parts of the country except the North Rift region and sections of the Western region.
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