Friday blackout caused by Suswa substation trip -Wandayi

Friday's nationwide power outage was triggered by a trip of the high-voltage transmission line at the Suswa substation, Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has confirmed.

"At 8:56 am on Friday, September 6, the 220KV Loiyangalani high-voltage transmission line tripped at Suswa substation while evacuating 288MW from the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) plant," the CS said in a statement following the blackout.

He added that another trip occurred on the Ethiopia-Kenya 500KV interconnector, which was carrying 200MW, leading to a total loss of 488MW and a cascading failure that caused a partial collapse of the national grid.

"This affected most regions of the country, except parts of Western Kenya, which were sustained by power supplied through the interconnector to Tororo, Uganda," Wandayi explained.

The blackout, which occurred early Friday morning, marked the second nationwide power failure in just two weeks. Most areas of the country were affected, except sections of North Rift and Western Kenya.

Efforts to restore power resulted in 70 per cent of the country being reconnected within about three hours, with full restoration expected soon, according to the ministry.

"What we are experiencing today is the result of years of sub-optimal investment in energy infrastructure. The sector is now addressing these challenges through both short-term and long-term interventions, including seeking private sector capital to complement government efforts," Wandayi added.

He also highlighted ongoing initiatives by the ministry to secure the nation's energy supply, which include improving grid flexibility by completing ongoing projects, pursuing the lifting of the moratorium on Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) by the National Assembly, implementing base load projects (hydro and geothermal) to enhance energy security and spinning reserves, and constructing alternative transmission lines to improve access to geothermal power for the Mt. Kenya region.