Power blackouts loom as transformer shortage hits Kenya Power

According to a local newspaper, Kenya Power is currently experiencing procurement issues, which has resulted in transformer supply delays.

Engineers at the power company have been forced to take faulty transformers out of service for longer periods of time before reinstalling them in order to restore normal power supply.

This could, in turn, expose both households and businesses to longer durations of power disruptions.

The country's impending power crisis comes at a time when Kenya Power data shows that the average length of time a customer is without power in the country is 4.03 hours.

This means that the shortage of new transformers is likely to worsen the situation.

To avoid a crisis, the company is now looking to purchase 2,144 transformers.

The move comes after Kenya Power announced a multi-billion shilling tender for transformer supply in March, but the bid was cancelled by the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPRB) in response to a petition filed by some local companies.

Kenya Power was accused by the petitioners of violating tender regulations, which stipulated that only companies with ten years of manufacturing experience could submit bids.

Last month, however, Kenya Power got a green light to proceed with the procurement of the transformers.

The delay in the procurement process therefore left the company to rely on ageing transformers, which have become prone to malfunction, leading to power outages.

“We have not had power for almost a week and this situation has been caused by faulty transformers,” Elizabeth Kariuki, a Nairobi resident told Daily Nation.

The shortages in the transformers have hit Kenya Power’s revenue, something that has left the firm relying on government funding to keep its operations afloat.