Drought brings severe power rationing

A 12-hour a day power rationing programme to last at least six months has been drawn up by Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) as a result of low water levels in the country’s hydro-electric power plants. Businesses will have their power cut between 6.30 pm and 6.30 am from Monday to Saturday - except for the central business district of Nairobi, which has been exempted - while householders will have no supply from 6.30 am to 6.30 pm, the ‘Daily Nation’ newspaper reported on Wednesday. Supplies would not return to normal until at least October, when the next short rains were expected, Energy Minister Francis Masakhalia announced after the cabinet meeting on Tuesday at which the rationing was approved. The cabinet had backed the immediate importation of an addition 50 megawatts of electricity from neighbouring Uganda and the exploration of other means to supplement the national grid, the ‘Daily Nation’ stated. Energy stakeholders agreed there was little alternative to the rationing programme, but many were also critical of the failure to plan for such a contingency and diversify Kenya’s energy sources, the report added.