Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has clarified President William Ruto's remarks that the country is often forced to undergo power rationing during evening hours, which experts call load shedding.
Appearing before the Senate on Wednesday, November, Wandayi addressed the issue, saying that the government has put in place an elaborate mechanism to reduce blackouts in the country.
“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 expressly mention loadshedding, the CS was responding to questions on the matter, saying, the power outages in the localised areas are mostly caused by trees near poles.
"These localised cases can be attributed to many factors, some of which involve vegetative growth, trees growing and sprouting along the road," he said.
Furthermore, the CS pointed to infrastructural challenges, especially in distributing electricity and growing populations, as other reasons for blackouts in some areas.
He added that in places where energy supply is constrained, the government has implemented a complementary project to ensure an adequate supply across the country.
"Where there are constraints in energy supply, we are implementing a complementary project to ensure an adequate supply going forward," Wandayi added.
Wandayi defended the government, saying its goal is to ensure a consistent power supply across the country.
On November 5, President Ruto admitted that the government is forced to do load shedding by shutting off some parts of the power supply between 5pm to 10pm.
He stated that this will help in keeping the national grip stable with the growing demands of power in the country.
In his speech, Ruto said that the country needs over Ksh 1 trillion to at least boost its power capacity to at least 5000 megawatts.
“Today in Kenya, between 5pm and 10pm, 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.”
“If we have to industrialise and engage in manufacturing, we need a minimum of 10,000 megawatts of energy. We need to build at least 50 megadams: High Grand Falls Dam and Soin Koru Dam,” Ruto said.
