Firm gets nod to cut trees near power lines

Kenya Power on Tuesday launched a project to cut down trees near power lines in Nyali, Mombasa County after obtaining a court order.

Last week, Kenya Power took the Mombasa county government to court accusing the county askaris of harassing and arresting the firm’s employees, who were cutting trees on power lines in Nyali suburb.

The Mombasa High Court granted the firm a temporary injunction restraining the county government from arresting or threatening workers cutting trees touching on power lines in the area.

The Court warned that if the county chiefs disobeyed the order, they would be charged with contempt of court and may be liable to a fine or six months imprisonment.

On Tuesday, Kenya Power chief executive officer Ben Chumo said the law allows Kenya Power to clear vegetation on up to five metres on either side of the 11kV lines.

“In Nyali, about 75 per cent of the supply challenges are associated with trees and vegetation encroaching power lines,” he said.

“Nyali residents complained to us that they were being hit by frequent power outages. We discovered that the cause of the outages were trees interfering with power lines,” he said.

In the past, he added, the company had been involved in pruning trees near power lines but that the exercise had proved to be unsustainable in trying to achieve a clear way leave-corridor.

He warned that it was against the law for people to encroach on way leave, adding that trees falling on lines had been disrupting supply.

“It is dangerous for tree branches to lie on power lines as they can cause electrocution. That is the reason why the company is clearing vegetation near the lines,” he explained.

Addressing journalists in Nyali after officially launching the tree cutting exercise, Mr Chumo said Kenya Power had embarked on way leave trace maintenance project in Mombasa to improve the quality of electricity supply.

Mr Chumo said trees account for 60 per cent of power supply quality challenges across the country.

The firm, he added, had earmarked Sh2 million for way leave maintenance countrywide to ensure smooth flow of electricity to consumers.

Kenya Power, he added, was also installing new low and medium voltage lines and upgrading existing transformers and distribution lines to ease pressure on the network in the region to improve the quality of energy supply.

Reports indicated that Mombasa County was opposed to Kenya Power’s tree cutting in Nyali over claims that it was degrading the environment.