Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has drafted an amendment to the Energy Act, 2019 in a move to cushion Kenyans from expensive power bills and frequent blackouts.
The Bill, according to Sifuna, which is ready for publication seeks to ensure transparency in what he alleged to be a powerful office at Kenya Power called the ‘dispatcher’.
Sifuna who is a member of the Senate Energy Committee said the occupant of the office has the powers to decide when and whose power is added to the national grid.
“….a ‘dispatcher’ is a person who has a view of all our power generation plants and decides whose power is 'dispatched' (added to the grid) and when,” he said.
“We heard testimony from cheaper green energy generators being 'curtailed' (essentially being told not to supply) with the dispatcher opting for electricity from more expensive thermal generators,” Sifuna added.
The Nairobi Senator further noted that the committee had been informed of five critical power lines that if completed would result in a way more stable grid.
The Turkwel-Ortum-Kitale line and evacuation of geothermal to the coast region are part of the five lines.
“Whereas it appears like common sense to prioritise these lines, attention is focused elsewhere because those projects are not ‘fatty’ enough.”
This comes as the country recovers from a nationwide blackout that hit the country on Friday night.
Eventhough most parts of the country have been reconnected, some are still in darkness with Kenya Power in their Saturday night update saying they were doing everything possible to ensure normalcy returns.
Kenya Power said the failure of electrical services was caused by a system disturbance leading to a loss of bulk power supply in various parts of the country.