The Energy Principal Secretary (PS) Alex Wachira on Monday, April 24, blamed the rampant countrywide blackouts on transformer vandals.
While appearing before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy, Wachira disclosed that an average of 20 transformers were stolen in a week, a vice he argued affected Kenya Power's operations negatively.
Wachira argued that the incidents resulted in losses which are then passed on to the consumers through increased bills hence affecting the economy.
The PS, therefore, called upon Parliament to impose heavy fines and sentences on all those found guilty.
According to Wachira, transformer theft cases had increased due to the high demand for copper wires in the black market.
Wachira listed Othaya in Nyeri County and Nyandarua County as the leading centers of transformer vandalism.
He also affirmed that the government was looking at the tariffs charged in order to bring down the cost of electricity as well as return Kenya Power Company Limited to profitability.
Furthermore, Wachira emphasised that there was a need to fast-track the implementation of power projects especially geothermal power production to allow consumers access cheap power.
"If we can produce just half of our geothermal capacity, we can sell the surplus power to our neighboring countries and get foreign exchange," he explained.
According to the PS, investing in geothermal power will guarantee power security in the country as well as boost the economy as most businesses rely on electricity and are often disrupted by the unreliable power supply.
On February 9, the UK High Commission to Kenya Jane Marriott announced that the UK will invest Ksh13.5 billion in Menengai geothermal project in Nakuru County.
The multi-billion project was expected to be the company's first geothermal plant, with Geothermal Development Company (GDC) supplying steam to the project to generate power.
