TOPLINE
Kenya is experiencing a nationwide power blackout following a “system disturbance,” according to a statement Saturday from the nation’s lone electricity provider, as efforts to restore power continue—though the company has provided little information about the outage.
KEY FACTS
Kenya Power, which provides a bulk of its power through Kenya Electricity Generating Company, said in a statement Saturday it had “lost bulk power supply to various parts of the country due to a system disturbance.”
Power has been restored to some parts of Eldoret, Kisumu and Nakuru, the company added, and said initial reports indicated a fault on the company’s high-voltage power transmission line caused the outage.
A report by the Kenyan news agency The Star earlier this week suggests Kenya has faced a high demand amid a low supply of electricity over the last year, citing sources from Kenya Power.
The company noted it was working “to restore normalcy within the shortest time possible.”
SURPRISING FACT
This is not the first time Kenya has faced a nationwide blackout. Kenya Power attributed a “system disturbance” during a blackout in November, 10 months after another blackout was caused by a severed high-voltage transmission line connection between its capital, Nairobi, and a hydroelectric dam, according to Reuters.
BIG NUMBER
56.2 million. That’s the estimated population of Kenya, according to the United Nations. The nation’s largest city, Nairobi, last reported an estimated population of 4.3 million people in 2019.
TANGENT
South African President Cyril Ramphosa declared a nationwide “state of disaster” last month as that country also faces an electricity crisis, causing it to endure daily power outages of up to 10 hours, according to the New York Times.
FURTHER READING
Kenya Hit By Nationwide Power Outage (Reuters)