Turkana Wind Power probe: MPs to summon former KETRACO boss Fernandes Barasa

Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) Acting Managing Director Anthony Wamukota had a tough time at the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Thursday.

This as he was put to task to explain why a tender for the construction of a transmission line from Loyangalani to Suswa was made on the advice of Lake Turkana Wind Power company, a firm that eventually benefited financially from delays in completion of the project.

Members of Parliament now want former KETRACO CEO Fernandes Barasa summoned to the committee to explain why KETRACO entered into an unfavourable contract.

Barasa recently left the company to run for the Kakamega gubernatorial seat; but even before he crafts his election roadmap, MPs want him recalled to answer questions over how a tender for the Loyangalani – Suswa transmission line was awarded.

It all started in 2009, when a deal was signed between Kenya Power and the Lake Turkana Wind Power Company for the purchase of power produced by the latter. At the time, there was no transmission line to evacuate the high voltage electricity.

And so the Ministry of Energy at the time tasked the Lake Turkana Wind Power Company to invite tenders on behalf of KPLC.

The company did as instructed and hired a consultancy firm known as KEMA to do the evaluation of bids. And then in 2013, KETRACO took over the procurement process with KEMA as its consultant.

Isolux Ingenieria, a Spanish firm, was arrived at as per recommendation. It had been required to complete the project by December 2013, a deadline it never kept.

After a series of extensions, Isolux was found to have run bankrupt forcing KETRACO to terminate the contract.

All this time, the power purchase agreement between KPLC and Lake Turkana company was that should Kenya Power not be ready with a transmission line to evacuate the power produced, it was going to pay the producing company a penalty for power not taken up.

Lake Turkana Company finished its works in January 2017, by which time Isolux was unable to function.

KETRACO reassigned the transmission line tender to a Chinese firm which completed the project in September 2018. But the damage had already been done with the government slapped with a bill of Ksh.16 billion for deemed generated power.

MPs are now concerned over how KETRACO, KPLC and the Ministry of Energy agreed to a deal with Lake Turkana Wind Power company to help them recruit a contractor for the construction of the transmission line, with a clause that any delay occasioning unused power would require the government to pay Lake Turkana Company a form of compensation.

It would appear that Lake Turkana Wind Power was the ultimate beneficiary of the delays.

KETRACO’s Acting CEO Anthony Wamukota claimed non-involvement in the initial stages of tendering, until when the Isolux contract was terminated.

He claimed no knowledge of the goings on despite having been at the organization since 2010.

Frustrated MPs now keen on hearing from the immediate former CEO Fernandes Barasa. 

Tags:

Kenya Power KETRACO Lake Turkana Wind Power Anthony Wamukota Fernandes Barasa

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