Electricity supply from Lake Turkana plant cut off indefinitely after crash in Longonot
Kenya Power is warning of a looming power shortage in some sections of the country following the disruption of electricity supply from the 300MW Lake Turkana Wind Power Plant.
It said electricity supply from the plant has been cut off indefinitely after a section of the 220kV Loiyangalani-Suswa electricity line clashed.
Four towers collapsed in Longonot area of Mai Mahiu during the incident which has raised fears of a power shortage rationing in the coming days.
Already, engineers from the power company and Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) have embarked on repairing the damaged sections.
Following the incident, Kenya Power issued a statement to assure electricity consumers that normalcy would be restored in the coming days.
Power plant
The company said that the incident had led to the switching off of the Turkana power plant that is connected to Suswa sub-station resulting in a generation shortfall.
“Kenya Power engineers are working closely with other agencies to reconstruct the affected section and restore power supply in the shortest time possible,” said the company.
This came as families living along the powerline raised their concern after a section of the high voltage cables that fell in their compounds in Longonot village.
John Njenga, a resident of the area said the first tower crashed over the weekend before the other three followed suit, raising fear and anxiety in the area.
He noted that they had in the past requested Ketraco to relocate families near the power line but their pleas have fell on deaf ears before the accident occurred.
“It’s by God’s grace that the power line fell on the cowshed after one of the nearby tower lines crashed and we hope this will be fully resolved in the coming days,” he said.
Coming days
Njenga said that there were fears that other towers along the line could collapse in the coming days due to the strong winds in the area.
Another resident David Waigi said the blame lay with Ketraco which failed to give ample space along the power line during its construction two years ago.
He said that families living near the power line were ready to move out if the power transmission company compensated them.
“Already four electricity towers have collapsed and there are fears that more could crash leading to loss of life and property in this area,” Waigi said.
