Residents living in Kisumu’s informal settlements have been warned against illegal power connections.
Kenya Power Kisumu branch manager Engineer Eric Haga said illegal power connections pose a risk to not only people, but also animals.Haga said the vice is rampant in most Kisumu informal settlements such as Obunga, Manyatta and Nyalenda. “Illegal power connections are very risky simply because those connections are not done within the set standards,” said Haga in his Kisumu office on Wednesday.“We are trying to tackle this problem by carrying out raids on a monthly basis so as to ascertain those with illegal power connections,” he added.The manager said that every Kenyan has a right to have power in his/her homestead or house, adding that laid down procedures should be followed during power connections in order to avoid cases of accidents and deaths resulting from acquiring power illegally.The manager said they are building many Kenya Power sub-stations in most parts of Kisumu County to deal with the issue of frequent blackouts in the Lakeside city.“We are reinforcing the network by building additional new substations,” said Haga. “As we speak, there’s one going on in Milimani. We did commission another one in Kibos area. We also commissioned another one in Ahero in a bid to ensure a steady supply of power,” he said.