Power cut to hit areas in Kisumu, Taita Saturday

The company said in a public notice Friday evening the outage is aimed at facilitating system maintenance of its grid in the targeted areas.

The utility firm said the interruption will be effected between 9am and 5pm.

Kisumu

Areas to be affected by the temporary power outage in Kisumu lie within the Kemri and Otonglo areas.

They include Kemri, Karombo village, Karombo Market, Otonglo Market, Otonglo Water Pump, Korando B and adjacent customers.

Power will be swited back on at 4pm in the mentioned areas.

Taita Taveta

In Taita Taveta, areas to be affected are within Voi town- whole of Voi town, Kariakoo, Mwakingali, Bondeni and adjacent customers.

Kenya Power said electricity supply will be restored at 5pm in those areas.

Why power interruptions are necessary

Kenya Power performs planned and unplanned interruptions for various reasons, including network maintenance, upgrades, connecting new customers, and addressing faults or emergencies.

Network maintenance and upgrades are usually scheduled outages to allow Kenya Power engineers to perform essential maintenance and upgrades on the power grid to enhance reliability and efficiency.

During road construction or other infrastructure projects, power lines may also need to be replaced, requiring temporary outages but with prior notice to affected customers.

However, unplanned power interruptions can occur due to reasons beyond Kenya Power's control.

These include unforeseen faults and equipment failure, which can lead to power outages requiring temporary service interruptions to fix the fault.

Vandals can also damage power infrastructure, leading to outages and the need for repairs, which may involve temporary power supply interruptions.

Other times, extreme weather conditions like windy rainfall can damage power lines and equipment, causing outages and the need for repairs.

In some incidences, wildlife like elephants can cause damage to power lines, leading to outages.

Almost a decade ago, in June 2016, a monkey caused a nationwide blackout after it climbed onto the roof of the Gitaru Power Station and fell onto a transformer.

The primate tripped the transformer and triggered a chain disruption of power generation and distribution in the other stations that led to a loss of more than 180 megawatts of power.