Kenya Power has confirmed 90 per cent power restoration following a fire that razed the Musaga Substation in Kakamega, plunging five Western Kenya counties into darkness.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The fire broke out at the substation on the night of Friday, August 7, disrupting electricity supply across Kakamega, Bungoma, Busia, Siaya, and Vihiga counties.

In the latest developments, Kenya Power Managing Director and CEO, Dr Eng Joseph Siror, visited the site the following day to assess the damage and oversee restoration efforts.

According to Kenya Power, its engineers worked around the clock, rerouting power supply through six alternative substations to cushion affected homes and businesses from prolonged blackouts.

📌 What You Need to Know

Musaga Substation links to the national grid through the 220kV Kibos-Kakamega-Musaga transmission corridor, offering high-voltage stability and geothermal integration support region-wide.  To reduce disruption, the utility transferred customers previously supplied by Musaga to alternative supply points via the Webuye, Mumias, Eldoret, Kitale, Kisumu, and Rang’ala substations.

However, some homes and businesses may still experience low voltage according to Kenya Power, since the network is currently running on these temporary arrangements.

“Through these alternative supply arrangements, approximately 90 per cent of customers have been restored. However, some customers may continue to experience low voltage as the network operates under these temporary arrangements,” Kenya Power stated.

At the fire-hit substation, Kenya Power reiterated that its personnel are racing to recover damaged control and protection cables buried within the wreckage left behind.

New cables are also being laid to restore protection systems for the crucial 132/33kV  transmission lines serving the towns of Tororo, Webuye, Lessos, and Mumias.

The utility firm is also working to secure replacement transformers, a key step toward restoring Musaga Substation to its full capacity.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke