Protests as blackout hits whole nation

Employees at the County Assembly of Nakuru type and print Order Papers under a tree powered by an outsourced generators and printers after a countrywide power blackout on May 28, 2013. Sessions were delayed and later, Speaker Susan Kihika admitted a number of typing errors in the official house documents it’s a teething problem only that the typing was done under a tree’. PHOTO/SULEIMAN MBATIAH

What you need to know:

  • Kenya Power said the nationwide blackout was caused by the tripping of the national power grid after a fault on a major supply line near Nairobi. The last time Kenya experienced an outage of that magnitude was in 2000. It lasted eight hours.
  • In Nairobi, the management of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport said they reverted to a contingency plan. Hotels and other businesses also resorted to using diesel-powered generators to ensure their operations were not interrupted.
  • The situation was the same in western Kenya where institutions like the New Nyanza provincial and the Kakamega provincial hospitals used generators. Their administrations said the maternity and the theatre wings were hardest hit.

A major power failure hit the entire country Tuesday, leaving hospitals, airports, banks, Mombasa port and businesses without electricity for hours.

The blackout sparked protests from the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KPSA) and the Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek).

Cofek said the blackout posed a security risk besides putting hospitals at risk of losing patients while KPSA protested at the high cost suffered by businesses.

Key installations had to turn to generators to continue operating after power went off at about 1pm.

Kenya Power said the nationwide blackout was caused by the tripping of the national power grid after a fault on a major supply line near Nairobi. The last time Kenya experienced an outage of that magnitude was in 2000. It lasted eight hours.

In Nairobi, the management of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport said they reverted to a contingency plan. Hotels and other businesses also resorted to using diesel-powered generators to ensure their operations were not interrupted.

The situation was the same in western Kenya where institutions like the New Nyanza provincial and the Kakamega provincial hospitals used generators. Their administrations said the maternity and the theatre wings were hardest hit.

Operations at Kisumu International Airport were also affected and incurred huge costs in alternative power supply.

Airport manager Joseph Okumu said they spend about Sh2.4 million to generate power by diesel every month.

In the North Rift, traders sought compensation for losses caused by the blackout.

Through the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, they demanded that Kenya Power issue notices before disconnecting electricity supply.

“The abrupt power outages are a disaster to our business. We have incurred massive losses,” said Mr Charles Mose of the KNCCI-Uasin Gishu chapter who cited manufacturing companies, hotels and the jua kali sector, as the most affected.

In Nakuru, the tabling of a report on the names of Cabinet nominees at the County Assembly was interrupted for an hour following the power failure.

Speaker Susan Kihika blamed the blackout for delaying debate and for the numerous typographical errors on the order paper.

Workers at Valley Hospital said the blackout grounded some services.

“It becomes impossible to communicate with service providers when we need to make urgent orders for medication,” said one employee who only identified herself as Rose.

At the Nyeri Provincial General Hospital, administrators said they had spent more than Sh100,000 on diesel to keep generators working.

“Our two 150Kv diesel generators have to run concurrently so that they can run the hospital,” said hospital administrator Wycliffe Kaburu. Each generator uses about 100 litres per hour.

“You cannot even register a patient if you have no electricity because you must power the computer for you to be able to key in the patient’s name. There is nothing you can do at this hospital if there is no power,” he said.

In Mombasa, operations at the port container terminal were at a standstill, while generators were used at the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) headquarters.

“Power went off at about 2pm and offloading and loading of containers is taking place only with the vessels that are fitted with their own cranes,” said Mr Bernard Osero, the KPA corporate affairs manager.

Moi International Airport and Coast General and Referral Hospital were among other major installations that used alternative power sources for the duration of the blackout.

Kenya Power Mombasa regional corporate affairs manager Mahaga Bomba said the blackout was a “normal power interruption”.

A statement from Kenya Power said two transmission lines between the Olkaria geothermal load centre and Ndenderu sub-station near Nairobi tripped while carrying 400 MW of electricity.

“Subsequently, the national interconnected grid and generating system also tripped, causing a national power outage,” said Kenya Power Corporate Communications officer Kevin Sang.

Ms Carole Kariuki, the chief executive of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, said an urgent meeting had been converged with relevant stakeholders to address the situation.

“Businesses in the country have been largely affected. As a country, the competitive status we possess is at stake,” she said.

Mr Steve Mutoro, the Cofek secretary-general, said the blackout had surpassed the normal inconveniences consumers were subjected to daily as it transcended national security and fatalities in hospitals.

“In another country, it is the Head of State that issues a statement assuring the citizens that all is well and they are in control of the country,” he said.

At the Kenyatta National Hospital, staff at cash points had to use manual system but critical areas relied on standby generators.

“Critical areas like the wards and others are operating normally because they are served by a standby generator,” said KNH corporate affairs and communications manager Simon Ithai.

The blackout came a day after Kenya Power scrapped the Sh35,000 electricity connection fee and said it would introduce new rates based on the “economic cost of connecting”.

In February, the parastatal had sought permission from the Energy Regulatory Authority to increase tariffs.

However Deputy President William Ruto rejected the request and asked the firm to seek other ways to raise the money.

Reported By Lilian Ochieng, Benson Amadala, Mercy Gakii, Winnie Otieno, Dennis Odunga, John Njiru