Power outages in Makueni caused by old transmission lines

Makueni Kenya Power Manager Josephat Lango has attributed frequent electricity outages that have hit several areas across the county to a weak transmission network.
Lango said the old and faulty power lines cannot deliver power effectively and the situation has been worsened by the ongoing October-December short rains.
‘‘Due to the current rains, sometimes accompanied by strong winds, weak poles fall off and trees fall on the power lines interrupting supply”, he said.
Some of the areas hard hit by the blackouts are Mbooni, Nzaui and Kitise.
In an interview with KNA in his office Tuesday, the Kenya Power manager however said plans were underway to refurbish the transmission lines to tame the outages.
‘‘In the coming budget we shall set aside funds to strengthen the old and weak network to stabilise power supply,’’ disclosed Lango.
He added that Wote substation that is expected to be complete in the next three months will help in reducing the incessant power outages.
‘‘With the new substation we shall have shorter transmission lines which are easier to maintain as compared to long power lines, ’he said.
Makueni County is currently served by Kiboko, Sultan Hamud, Konza and Mtito Andei substations.
Kenya Power Manager called on residents to report power outages in the shortest time possible for reconnection.
‘‘If the power outage does affect our main supply it becomes difficult for us to detect an interruption and residents go for days and even sometimes weeks without power”, added Lango.
By Roselyne Kavoo