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Major power outage reported in Kenya

Tuesday January 11 2022
Kenya Power staff at work.

Kenya Power staff at work. The utility firm has confirmed that collapsed towers along a high-voltage transmission line caused the power outage in various parts of Nairobi. PHOTO | FILE | NMG

By BRIAN AMBANI

Kenya Power has announced collapse of towers supporting a power transmission line is to blame for a power outage that has affected parts of the country.

Kenyans from various parts of Nairobi and its environs reported a power outage in various parts on Tuesday morning, which heavily affected businesses that rely on electricity, including welding shops, salons and other establishments.

The utility firm said the blackout follows collapse of towers supporting the 220-kilometre high voltage Kiambere-Embakasi electricity transmission line at 10.45am. 

The line evacuates power from the 168-megawatt Kiambere Hydropower Station, which is part of the Seven Forks hydropower stations located along Tana River.

“We have lost power supply due to collapsed towers on the Kiambere-Embakasi high voltage transmission power line at 10.45am this morning,” said Kenya Power in a statement.

“Our engineers are working to restore electricity supply as the repairs are being undertaken. An update on the restoration progress will be issued in due course.”

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However, the company did not give a timeline on when the restoration works are expected to be completed.

This came just weeks after the utility firm was forced to ration power following collapse of towers supporting the high voltage power transmission line connecting Loiyangalani to the Suswa substation, which is the primary interconnection point of power generated from various sources across the country.

The 430km 400 kilovolt line evacuates power from the 310.25MW Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) plant in Marsabit, which supplies about 17 per cent of Kenya’s total peak power demand.

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