Kenya Power launches Sh50 million backup facility to cure outages

Kenya Power has launched a back-up National Control Centre to safeguard the security of electricity supply across the country.

In a press release on March 28, Kenya Power said that the backup control centre, will be located at the Coast.

It will provide an alternative power dispatch point in case of failure of the main National Control Centre.

Additionally, the facility will serve as a training centre to boost power system operators' capacity and technical skills.

What is a National Control Centre?

A National Control Centre is a facility where electricity from various generation sources is dispatched to consumers across the country.

The dispatch is guided by a merit order that considers various factors such as cost and demand.

The main National Control Centre is responsible for the operation of the Kenyan power system as a whole.

It is considered a best practice and also a requirement of most Grid Codes across the world for electricity utilities to operate backup national control centres, to secure the reliability of their power supply.

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With the commissioning of the backup national control centre, Kenya becomes the first country within the East African Community to comply with this requirement.

Other countries in Africa that operate backup national control centres include South Africa, Algeria, Morocco, Ethiopia, Sudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Egypt.

The backup facility has been set up at a cost of Sh50 million financed by a grant from the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ).

The initiative has been undertaken as part of the Power System Readiness for Integration of Variable Renewable Energies (VRE) project that is being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum.

"Our grid is expanding rapidly with increased customer numbers and this calls for the deployment of strategic initiatives that are meant to secure and strengthen the quality of power supply. The backup national control centre is one such initiative that we have undertaken," said Kenya Power's Managing Director & CEO Joseph Siror.

He added, "we are also focused on strengthening the network through refurbishment of the existing infrastructure and construction of new lines."

This are aimed at providing alternative supply points to customers to minimize power outages.

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