The energy crisis is of our own making

The impact of power rationing in Kenya began to sink in at the weekend when many parts of the country went without electricity.

But it is too early to count the losses, which are going to manifest themselves pretty soon in terms of reduced production and job cuts.

Power rationing was inevitable following drastic drop of water due to prolonged drought.

But whereas Kenyans understand the predicament that has befallen them, it is critical that some salient issues be fleshed out and debated.

The first one is misinformation and failure to prepare consumers. Just a month ago or so, the Ministry of Energy was upbeat that the electricity supply had not reached point where power rationing was necessary.

This was despite the fact that there were clear indicators that all was not well.

Secondly, when Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi made the sombre announcement, the Kenya Power and Lighting Company talked of alternate two-day power miss-outs for all consumers.

As it has happened, this has been revised to three days and even then, the schedules are not being followed.

Third, unlike eight years ago when the country was faced with a similar situation, we have not taken concrete steps to rope in independent power producers to plug the deficit.

What we are saying is that this country is faced with a major energy crisis but the authorities are economical with information.

But there is even bigger issue: what have we done to tackle periodic energy deficits?

During the last crisis in 2000/01, then President Moi made an off-handed response; saying neither he nor the government could stop drought.

However, we know better. Drought is a result of man’s desecration of the environment. This crisis is the result of poor planning or failure to act on plans.

Whereas we understand that hydropower is unsustainable, we have done little to diversify into other sources, hence we are always caught flat-footed whenever the rains fail. We can do better than this.