Residents of West Pokot and Trans Nzoia counties and their environs will enjoy reliable power supply once the Turkwel-Ortum-Kitale electricity transmission line is completed.
Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (Ketraco) Project Engineer Samson Akuto says the power line will provide an alternative transmission evacuation route for the Turkwel Power plant that has a capacity of generating 106 megawatts.
Akuto said the project will also facilitate efficient power supply to the proposed cement factory at Ortum and improve power quality and reliability at Kitale, Ortum and their environs.
“Incessant power outages experienced in the region shall be a thing of the past since the current supply in the region is drawn from Lessos Sub Station in Uasin Gishu County. In the Western parts of Kenya starting from Nakuru, there are only two power stations that are Turkwel and Sondu Miriu which means there is a lot of power loss due to the long transmission distances,” stated the Engineer.
He reiterated that with the completion of the 138kms line, more power dependent activities will be unveiled in West Pokot, Trans Nzoia and some parts of Uasin Gishu County since residents have been complaining of incessant power fluctuations due to the long distances that lead to power losses.
Akuto said that the laying of the line had been faced with challenges arising from the rugged terrain and compensation hitches together with the Indian Contractor who was declared insolvent thus forcing the contract to be revoked.
He told the Rift Valley Regional Development Implementation and Coordination Committee (RDICC) that once procurement of a new contractor is finalised, it would take about 8 months for the project to be fully completed.
“Check survey, foundation, tower erection and stringing are 100 percent complete for the Turkwel-Ortum-Kitale transmission line. For the substations, engineering is too 100 percent complete but for procurement, installations are at 80.5 and 72.2 percent respectively,” said Akuto.
The transmission line whose construction started in March 2014 was completed in March last year.
By Richard Muhambe
