[President Uhuru Kenyatta during his tour in Kisii. Hundreds of homes will be connected with electricity by December this year in Kisii following his directive. Photo/The –star]
Kenya Power has assured Kisii County residents that it is on course to connect 29,000 subscribers in Kisii County by December 2017.
The effort is expected to mark the second phase of the Last Mile Project, which has so far cost the firm Sh 63 billion in the purchase and installation of 5,000 transformers nationally.
Kenya Power’s acting South Nyanza Regional Manager Mr Nick Kibor made the statement during a safety training seminar held for administrators including chiefs, assistant chiefs and deputy county commissioners in Kisii yesterday.
Stung by recent allegations of falsifying over 1 million connectionsin a report submitted to President Uhuru Kenyatta and other top Stae officials, Kenya Power seems to have launched a campaign to fight off the image of a firm steeped in mere public relations gimmicks at the expense of the truth.
“We are still on course to connect our projected target of 29,000 subscribers. In the South Nyanza Region, we have so far installed 122 transformers in Homa Bay, 86 in Kisii, 100 in Migori, and 166 in Nyamira Counties respectively,” said Mr Kibor.
He dismissed allegations by area residents that some of the transformers had malfunctioned soon after their installation, saying he was only aware of three cases.
“Of the 86 transformers so far installed, only 3 have developed technical problems but we are in the process of fixing them,” said Mr Kibor.
Meanwhile, Kenya Power’s Safety Manager John Guda has warned road contractors against leaving power lines lying across the roads in their areas of work.
“We are concerned about power lines left lying across the roads in areas where private road contractors are engaged in construction. The lines are sometimes left lying there while energized, posing a lethal risk to passers-by, said Mr Guda.
He said three people had lost their lives in the county within the last one month due to handling live wires, saying the deaths could have been avoided.
Mr Guda’s statements came in the wake of the electrocution of a 14 year old Nyamonaria Secodary School student inKenyoro Village, Emesa sub-location, Nyakembene location, Gucha South sub-county.
“Our product is meant to improve and ease consumers’ lives as opposed to killing or maiming them. It is important for residents to avoid coming into contact with energized wires because on most occasions it leads to their death,” said the safety official.
He appealed to residents to avoid cutting trees near power lines, saying they could accidentally fall on the lines and cause blackouts or fires.
“When cutting trees near power lines, care should be taken to ensure that falling trunks or branches do not land on them, as this can lead to interruption in power supply and accidents such as fires or electrocution,” said Mr Guda.
The power firm safety boss decried the incidences of illegal connections in the county, saying that even fences had been illegally energized, putting livestock, the owners and innocent passers-by at risk in some cases.
He also complained of encroachment of land and illegal construction of structures under power lines as a major cause of electricity-related accidents.
Mr Guda warned those engaged in vandalism of power infrastructure such as transformers and wiring that they would face prosecution if caught.
“The law is clear on what will happen to the vandals engaged in the stealing and misuse of electric power supply infrastructure. We will not hesitate to press charges against any that will be caught in the offence,” said Mr Guda.
He also blamed private contractors for non-compliance in construction of power lines, warning that the power firm would blacklist them for shoddy work.
“Any firm whose performance will fall below set standards will be blacklisted and excluded from future power supply contracts and tenders,” he said.