George Ouma Otieno is a renowned innovator who has been working at Kenya Power since 2017 as an engineer.
The power distributor celebrated him on Tuesday, April 18, for leading power designs of several projects including Vipingo Holiday Homes, Superior Homes, and the Ksh6 billion Buxton Affordable Housing Projects.
He is the project lead for the power design of the multi-billion affordable housing estate in Mombasa commissioned by retired President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2020.
The engineer is in charge of the design and installation of power in all the 1,860 units in the estate.
“Within the company, he has done many power design projects for massive housing projects, which include Vipingo Holiday Homes, Superior Homes, and Buxton Affordable Housing Projects,” read a statement by the power distributor.
His talents in engineering and innovation were however noticeable earlier in his life.
As a primary school student, George spent most of his time repairing wristwatches and old wooden radios for his neighbours.
When joining high school, he already had mastery of mobile phone technology and was doing side-business repairing other people's phones.
“It was a no-brainer for him that his future was in engineering. Given his experience and proven success in assembling electronics, he naturally eased into innovation,” added Kenya Power.
The engineer proceeded to join the University of Nairobi pursuing a Bachelor's in Electrical and Electronic Engineering where he continued to create and innovate technology that landed him international recognition.
Before graduating, the engineer had already patented his innovation and won the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE) competition.
“He was ranked nationally in the 21st Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) international conference in 2014.
“This good showing attained him a chance to attend the World Engineering Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure (WECSI 2014) in Abuja, Nigeria,” added the statement.
One of his innovations is a smart highway technology that enables the generation of power through the exertion of pressure on roads by vehicles which the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) is willing to try in the pilot stage.
"Vehicles exert pressure on the road and change this pressure into energy. Laser strips will be placed on the roads, converting the pressure into energy enough to light the street lights and provide power to the shops close to the highways,” George explained to Kenya Power.
The Kenya Power Engineer is also the Chairman of the Kenya Innovators Society, which brings together over 150 innovators with varying specialities nationwide.
