The 20,000 faulty transformers lying at Kenya Power company’s yards

BY ERIC ABUGA

The National Assembly Committee on Energy has expressed deep concern over the alarming number of faulty transformers lying idle in various Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) yards across the country. 

The committee, chaired by David Gikaria (Nakuru East), questioned the utility company’s delay in addressing the transformer crisis, which continues to worsen electricity supply challenges in many regions.

Appearing before the committee, KPLC Managing Director and CEO Eng. Joseph Siror revealed that out of the over 20,000 faulty transformers in the company’s yards, only about 2,300 are deemed repairable. 

He further explained that most of the remaining units are beyond salvage, with some being mere shells stripped of all functional components.

Siror attributed the transformer damages to rising cases of vandalism, power surges, and illegal electricity connections that cause overloads. 

"The challenge is particularly severe in informal settlements where illegal power tapping leads to frequent transformer and fuse blowouts."

Committee members expressed their dissatisfaction with KPLC’s slow response in repairing or disposing of the unusable equipment. 

MP Simon King’ara (Ruiru) questioned the company's reluctance to dispose of the faulty units. He gave an example of Roysambu KPLC yard as one that is giving a negative impression to the public. 

“KPLC should expedite repairs and make the usable units available to restore power in underserved areas."

In response, Siror noted that the company no longer sells damaged transformers to scrap metal dealers as a precaution against encouraging vandalism. “Instead, we repurpose the shells and carry out repairs in our internal workshops,” he said.

Geoffrey Mulanya (Nambale) pointed to a possibility of an internal syndicate contributing to vandalism. 

“There is a growing suspicion that some rogue KPLC staff and contractors may be behind these acts,” he warned. 

Mulanya also criticized the prolonged power outages in certain areas due to non-functional transformers, some lasting over five months.

Echoing the frustrations, Julius Mawathe (Embakasi South) cited the plight of residents in Mukuru kwa Njenga and Mukuru kwa Reuben, who frequently face power disconnections and delays in transformer replacements.

“Residents of these areas are being plunged into darkness for extend periods without a clear solution,” he lamented.

In his defense, Siror said the frequent transformer and fuse blowouts in informal settlements are largely caused by illegal power connections, which put too much pressure on the system and lead to breakdowns.

"This has been a long-standing issue in these areas," he said. "We need to clean up and inspect the entire power network to find the real causes of these failures before we can do replacements."

Gikaria acknowledged the efforts KPLC is making to fight vandalism but called on the company to fast-track repair and disposal processes. 

“We support measures against vandalism, but we must ensure efficiency and accountability. Kenyans deserve better,” he concluded.