KPLC Confirms Widespread Power Outage, Appeals For Patience From Kenyans: “We’ll Update On Progress”

• Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has confirmed a nationwide power outage affecting most parts of Kenya on Friday, August 30
• KPLC assured the public that efforts are underway to restore electricity, with North Rift and sections of the Western region remaining unaffected
• The utility company expressed regret for the inconvenience caused and appealed for patience from its customers
• KPLC promised to provide updates on the progress of the power restoration exercise as soon as possible

Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Nairobi -The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has confirmed a widespread power outage affecting most parts of the country on Friday, August 30.

In a statement, the utility company acknowledged the disruption and assured the public that efforts were underway to restore electricity as quickly as possible.

"We have lost power supply to various parts of the country except North Rift region and sections of the Western region," KPLC stated.

The company expressed regret over the inconvenience caused and appealed for patience from its customers.

"We regret any inconvenience caused and urge for patience from our customers as we work towards restoring normalcy at the earliest opportunity. We will issue an update on the progress of the power restoration exercise as soon as possible," the statement added.

KPLC's backup plan to blackouts

Earlier, KPLC, in partnership with the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, unveiled a backup National Control Centre to minimise these outages.

Kenya Power managing director Joseph Siror revealed that the facility was set up in the Coast region at a cost of KSh 50 million.

The facility is aimed at safeguarding the security of the electricity supply, providing an alternative despatch point in case of failure of the main control centre.

The backup facility gets electricity supply from various power generation sources and dispatches it to various consumers across the country based on cost and demand.

As a required grid code across the world, it secures the reliability of power supply.

The Backup National Control Centre construction was financed by GIZ grants under the Power System Readiness for Integration of Variable Renewable Energies (VRE) project implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum.