Marsabit residents decry power outage as major generator bursts into flames

This comes barely a week after a delegation of members of the county assembly visited energy cabinet secretary Davis Chirchir to address the matter.

During the Nairobi meeting, the MCAs were promised that the issues will be addressed once and for all.

Marsabit County produces 310 megawatts of electricity from Lake Turkana Wind Power located at Loiyangalani – The biggest single private wind farm project in Africa worth Ksh. 70 billion.

Despite this investment, power outages continue to affect individuals, government and private institutions forcing them to opt for alternative sources of power like generators.

The power challenge is not something new to the residents but it has been escalating. 

Among the majorly affected businesses include hotels, barber shops, welders, ice-cream and fruits vendors, local vernacular media houses, entertainment joints, residential areas’, internet service providers, water points, private medical centers among others.

This has also exposed the locals to an insecurity threat with residents forced to close their businesses by 6pm for fear of being robbed under the darkness.

Addressing the issue, KPLC Marsabit branch boss Mr. Jasper Ogeto said, they are currently serving only 30% of the residents.

"We are trying our best to do a 6 hour ration as we wait to fix the problem. I am optimistic we will soon solve it. I know how frustrating it is for various businesses but we are working round the clock to solve it"

He also added, "There are plans to buy new generators to replace the old ones. There are also long term plan to install electricity lines from Loiyangalani to Marsabit town - This might take 2 years in the long run, it will be an ultimate game changer"