Kenyans are experiencing an average of nine hours of electricity outages per month, according to a report by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).
The bi-annual statistics report for the financial year 2024/2025 reveals that, on average, electricity consumers faced power outages lasting over nine hours each month between July and December 2024.
This stark finding, quantified by the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), indicates a considerable decline in the consistency of power provision across the nation. SAIDI, a key measure of electricity reliability, tallies the total duration of all power interruptions experienced by the average customer during a specified period.
The EPRA report states, "In the period under review, customers experienced outages lasting an average of 9.15 hours per month."
This figure marks an increase from the 8.84 hours recorded during the corresponding period in the previous financial year, and alarmingly, it far exceeds the Authority's own target of 3.25 hours for the current tariff control period.
The inconvenience and economic setbacks caused by these prolonged periods without electricity are palpable for households, businesses, and public services alike. The report period coincided with various instances of widespread power outages experienced by Kenyans in 2024.
That is not all; EPRA found that the national utility company, Kenya Power, takes nearly three hours to fix any reported electricity outage. According to the report, the Customer Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI), which measures the average time it takes to restore service to customers after an outage, increased to an average of 2.56 hours, exceeding EPRA’s target of 2.45 hours.
Another worrying aspect highlighted by the EPRA report is the substantial amount of electricity lost within the power system, referred to as system losses. These losses encompass both technical inefficiencies in transmission and distribution as well as commercial losses stemming from issues such as connections that are against the law and meter tampering.
During the review period, the report found that "24.2 per cent of the total energy purchased by the national utility was lost".
This percentage represents an increase of one percentage point compared to the previous year and significantly surpasses the Authority's acceptable threshold of 17.5 per cent outlined in the approved tariff for the financial year 2024/2025.
These high system losses are a cause for concern as they ultimately translate to increased operational costs for the power utility, which can, in turn, exert upward pressure on electricity tariffs borne by Kenyan consumers.
Reducing these losses is crucial for ensuring greater efficiency and affordability within the electricity sector.
