Kenya Power has assured Nairobi residents living along the Expressway corridor that power outage will be minimal during the relocation of transformers and power lines.
Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) is set to spend over Sh1.08 billion to move electricity lines to pave way for the construction of the 27.1-kilometer-along Nairobi Expressway.
Kenya Power Managing Director Bernard Ngugi alleviated fears of power outages saying their live transmission unit will facilitate the smooth transfer of transformers.
“We aim to keep the lights on even as we carry out this critical exercise. We will ensure that we relocate as much network as possible using our Live Line Maintenance team to minimise interruption,” Ngugi said in a statement on Thursday.
He, however, noted that some estates along the Expressway corridor may experience interruptions in power supply. Estates affected are between Mlolongo, Mombasa Road, and James Gichuru Road.
“When executing projects of this magnitude, some of the customers within the estates along the Expressway corridor will experience interruptions in power supply. However, the Company is planning to minimize power interruptions by leveraging the Live Line Maintenance technology which relocate most of the lines without switching off supply,” he said.
Adding: “Where it will be inevitable to switch off supply, we are scheduling interruptions and communicating the plan to customers.”
Kenya Power said the exercise will involve the relocation of a combined 106 kilometres of high voltage (66kV), medium voltage (11kV), and low voltage cables as well as 28 transformers serving the area.
“As of today, Kenya Power has covered 17 kilometres of the Expressway. Once completed, 40.6 kilometres of the network will pass underground,” said Kenya Power.
The relocation exercise is being carried out by a team of 60 employees from Kenya Power and 4 external underground cabling contractors. It is expected to be completed at the end of November this year.
