The Kenya Power & Lighting Company (KPLC) Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Joseph Siror has explained how Kenyans contribute to the power blackouts experienced in the country.
In an interview on March 17, assured Kenyans that there is power countrywide adding that there are factors contributing to this.
“If you look at the cause of some of these challenges, part of it is from the public themselves,” Siror said.
Siror admitted that a few people might be experiencing blackouts but urged the public to also take note of those who have power.
According to Siror, the blackouts in these regions are caused by the presence of trees along the power lines.
He explained that between 60 to 70 percent of power outages are caused by the presence of trees along the traces.
He stated that some Kenyans normally block KPLC officials arguing that it is against the efforts to conserve the environment.
“That is to say that for every 70 percent of the blackouts it is possibly because there was a tree somewhere which was not cut because they did not allow us,” he said.
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Siror said the Company had started a programme of clearing the traces recognizing the impact it has on the customers, but a section of the public was opposed to it.
He revealed that those people who allowed Kenya Power to cut the trees rarely experience blackouts even during the rainy season.
“If you want to enjoy reliable power, you must allow us to clear these trees. Some initially resisted, but they eventually agreed. Later, they called back to tell us that despite heavy rain, the power remained on unlike in the past when they would experience outages,” Siror stated.
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He said KPLC currently has the highest penetration in Africa at 80 percent and it’s normal for some parts of the country to experience challenges.
However, he emphasized that most of the regions experiencing constant outages are due to the trees.
“It could be that there are still some trees on these traces, and we beg them to allow us to clear them,” he added.
Besides, Siror some of the KPLC infrastructure are destroyed by members of the public leading to power outages.
“We have incidents where our infrastructure is vandalized or encroached by the public,” he said.
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