The production of geothermal electricity went up by 6.7 percent after one of the two power lines supplying the city centre was vandalised in April.
This is according to Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter who says that they had to use an alternative line from Juja –Dandora-Embakasi to supply the city.
“That is the line that sources power from Suswa where we have the major substation so when it was damaged in April, we had to use the one from Juja –Dandora-Embakasi to supply the city.Thermal became necessary to avoid overloading the transformers in that line. We also had to reduce geothermal supply since this is one of the key lines that evacuate power from the Olkaria Geothermal zone,” the CS told Business Daily.
Nairobi is supplied through the 220 kilovolt (Kv) line from the Suswa substation and another line from the Juja substation through the Dandora substation.
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In the Coast region, the construction of Ksh6.5 billion Kwa Jomvu-Makupa Causeway in Mombasa prompted the re-routing of two power lines, resulting to increased uptake of geothermal power.
Appearing before the Senate Standing Committee on energy Keter said that the delayed completion of the Olkaria-Lessos-Kisumu transmission line played a role in the increased reliance on the thermal power which affect the cost of power due to the pass through Fuel Cost Charge consumers pay for every unit of power purchased.
The uptake of the diesel –generated electricity rose to 6.7 percent of the generation mix after steady decline over time to an all-time-low of 4.2 percent in April.
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