Nairobi(Mogadishu24)-Kenya experienced a widespread power outage on Friday, 6th September 2024, due to the tripping of the 220kV Loiyangalani transmission line at Suswa substation.

The incident disrupted 488MW of power, 27.3% of the total national demand, leading to a partial collapse of the grid.

Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum, Hon. James Opiyo Wandayi, confirmed the loss, which was followed by a trip on the Ethiopia-Kenya interconnector. Restoration efforts began immediately, and as of 11:30 a.m., about 70% of the affected regions, including Nairobi, Nyeri, and Kisumu, had been restored.

Wandayi attributed the outage to suboptimal investment in energy infrastructure and outlined steps being taken to prevent future occurrences, including improving base load generation projects and enhancing grid flexibility.

Full power restoration is expected by late afternoon.