Auditor General’s Report Exposes What Is Ailing Kenya Power
As Kenyans tally the damages caused by the increasingly common nationwide power outages, an audit conducted by the auditor general has accused Kenya Power of inefficiencies and neglecting to enforce strategies to prevent electricity blackouts.
In the October audit report, the auditor general depicts a monopolistic company facing significant inefficiencies that result in the loss of billions of shillings due to missed business prospects and system failures.
In the fiscal year concluding on June 30th, 2023, the company acquired 13,290 gigawatt-hours from power producers. However, only 10,234 gigawatt-hours were sold to customers, indicating an efficiency loss of 3,056 gigawatt-hours. This exceeds the authorized loss by 3.5 percent.
The monopoly in charge of power transmission failed to seize business prospects due to its incapacity to link 21,231 customers. Despite these potential customers collectively contributing Ksh.966.9 million in capital, some waited on a list for up to eleven years without being connected.
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Kenya Power has pointed out that the obstacles causing the projects to be delayed are related to difficulties in obtaining necessary permissions for land use (way leaves) and the unavailability of essential materials required for construction, including cables, conductors, meters, and transformers.
In the audit report submitted to the auditor general, Kenya Power highlights the challenges related to meters, stating that the procurement and distribution processes have faced legal obstacles, impacting numerous electricity consumers.
The report indicates that the company experiences significant effects from various renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind. These sources contribute to a considerable level of instability in dispatch operations, resulting in an oversupply of power beyond the demand and ultimately causing power outages.
The corporation, possessing a grid circuit spanning 300,000 kilometers and supplying power to 9.3 million clients, disclosed a pre-tax deficit of Ksh.4.4 billion in the examined period, despite the sale of 9,566 gigawatt-hours of electricity.
Auditor General’s Report Exposes What Is Ailing Kenya Power
