KPLC warns against oil siphoning as Isiolo residents decry power outages

The official said consumers within 600 metres range to the nearest transformers would be temporarily relocated as a stopgap measure while the issue is being sorted.

The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has put on notice a syndicate behind oil siphoning at power transformers in Isiolo which has been blamed for recent outages in parts of the county.

It is suspected the oil is being sold and used for domestic purposes in neighbouring Meru County where similar cases have been reported in the recent past, according to sources.

Residents of Kwa Franco and Waso areas in Bulapesa ward are among the victims who have been in darkness in the last four days with reliable sources intimating that a similar case had also been reported at Safi estate within Isiolo town.

Residents and traders Tuesday shared their frustrations during a public baraza that brought together community members, local leadership and officials from the power utility firm with the company put to task over failure to rectify the situation several days after the transformer blew up.

KPLC Isiolo branch Manager Alex Wachira had a hard time convincing the residents and area MCA David Waithaka that transformers of a similar make to the one that had broken down had run out of stock in the market.

A replacement is expected to cost the power distributor Sh2 million.

"We are working on restoring power in the area and resources are available but the transformer of 11 kilovolts is not available in the market. We have made an order and it will be installed immediately after we get it," he said, without giving an exact time frame.



The official said consumers within 600 metres range to the nearest transformers would be temporarily relocated as a stopgap measure while the issue is being sorted.

The company further revealed plans to move transformers from open places to enclosed areas to curb vandalism and oil siphoning cases, imploring the affected residents to agree in whose compound the new transformer will be installed after the purchase.

But Frank Kirera, a businessman, said admission by the official that there was no transformer in stock was an indication of its ill preparedness in dealing with outages emanating from human activities.

"Some of us in business have incurred losses after perishable goods became bad. It is sad that KPLC is behaving as if it did not anticipate such cases," he said.

Darkness in the area, Frank said, had seen robbery cases increase, exposing residents to further suffering.

MCA Waithaka asked the company to expedite the replacement of the transformer, saying delayed restoration was exposing many people, businesses and institutions to unnecessary suffering.

"Until when will our people wait for the situation to be rectified?" he posed, adding that residents should not be punished for a crime committed by a few individuals but assured of interrupted service delivery.

The criminals, sources say, know the electric system and may either switch off power to enable them siphon the oil or do so when it's raining heavily which makes residents assume the interruption is as a result of the heavy rains.

The power company is losing an estimated Sh66,000 daily in revenue following the outage, according to sources.