Kenya Power establishes a backup centre at the Coast
The dispatch of electricity from the National Control Centre is guided by a merit order that considers various factors such as cost and demand.
Kenya Power has developed an alternative power dispatch point in case of the failure of the leading national control centre.
A national control centre is a facility where electricity from various generation sources is dispatched to consumers across the country.
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In a statement on Thursday, Kenya Power Managing Director Joseph Siror said the backup centre located on the coast aims to safeguard the security of electricity supply across the country.
The facility will also serve as a training centre to boost power system operators' capacity and technical skills.
"Our grid is expanding rapidly with increased customer numbers, and this calls for the deployment of strategic initiatives meant to secure and strengthen the quality of the power supply. The backup national control centre is one such initiative that we have undertaken," Siror said.
He noted that the backup facility has been set up at Sh50 million, financed by a grant from GIZ under the Power System Readiness for Integration of Variable Renewable Energies (VRE) project, which is being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum.
Siror added that the company is also focused on strengthening the network through refurbishment of the existing infrastructure and construction of new lines to provide alternative supply points to its customers to minimise power outages.
New Kenya Power Backup National Control Centre in the Coastal Region. Photo: X/davis_chirchir
The dispatch of electricity from the National Control Centre is guided by a merit order that considers various factors, such as cost and demand.
Siror said the merit order is considered the best practice and also a requirement of most grid codes across the world for electricity utilities to operate backup national control centres and to secure the reliability of their power supply.
With the commissioning of the backup national control centre, Kenya becomes the first country within the East African Community to comply with this requirement.
Other countries in Africa that operate backup national control centres include South Africa, Algeria, Morocco, Ethiopia, Sudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Egypt.
From 1922 to date, Kenya Power has extended its transmission and distribution network across the country, covering over 306,000 kilometres.
As of December 2023, the company had over 9.5 million accounts and had enabled over 76 percent of the country's population to access the national grid.
Siror reiterated the company's vision to become Kenya's energy solutions provider of choice, delivering sustainable, quality, and reliable service to empower individuals and drive socio-economic progress through innovation and technology.
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