The Cabinet has directed the Ministry of Energy to end power outages in the country.
President William Ruto, who chaired the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, said frequent power failure was hurting Kenya’s investment profile and the public.
It resolved that the transmission line system should be unbundled.
The move, which involves the separation of generation, transmission and distribution of power, will ensure that the entire country is not thrown into darkness if a line fails.
To deal with the overloading of transmission lines that causes outages, the Cabinet noted that the Bomet-Narok line will be constructed.
Funded in 2016, the line has not been built due to legal disputes.
Furthermore, the €1.2 billion (Sh200 billion) KenGen solar power project at the Seven Forks Dam will serve as a safeguard against power failure. The 42MW project incorporates substantial battery storage, and in the event of a power failure, the stored energy is activated.
In addition, the project contributes to preserving hydro-power at the five dams comprising the Seven Forks.
The Cabinet was also informed that negotiations on the Kenya-European Union Economic Partnership Agreement had been completed.
The agreement, giving Kenya more access to the European Union market, is expected to be signed at State House next week.
