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{
"id": 1398866,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1398866/?format=api",
"text_counter": 221,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Davis Chirchir",
"speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum",
"speaker": null,
"content": "that the compensation unit was responding to a dip. The system seemed to have seen a dip in voltage. Though the dip occurred at almost the same time with a sub-transmission line, a 66 kV line at Athi River substation, which was recorded at 21 hours, 45 minutes, 09 seconds, and 277 milliseconds, you will see that the dip occurred at about 100 milliseconds later in our Athi River substation. It is, however, unusual for such faults to affect the grid, owing to the fact that the lines are at downstream in terms of being the last mile side of consumption. Therefore, we do not expect that unusual fault to affect the grid, because the lines are, like I said, downstream of the grid. The resultant impact on the transmission grid should be minimal. Examination of the waveforms and the events in the SCADA system shows that Lake Turkana Wind Project or power plant tripped in 140 milliseconds when the voltage dip was slightly above 80 per cent of the normal 220 voltage, contrary to conditions stipulated in the grid code, which require the system to hold for at least two seconds for a fault right through. The fault can be allowed to go through if the system is to hold for two seconds. However, this reactive power reacted, and in less than 140 milliseconds, the system shut down. That caused a challenge, which cascaded down and ran us into that challenge. That was the problem. On the 11th of November, 2023, Kenya Transmission National Grid with an installed capacity generation of 2,806 megawatts, with geothermal at that time of 852, hydros 810, thermal 506, wind 426 megawatts and solar 212 megawatts. The national grid is interconnected with Uganda through a 132kv double circuit line between Lessos and Tororo substation, and Ethiopia's electric power is through a 500kv high voltage DC line linking Suswa. On that particular day, this was the second partial blackout on the 11th November, 2023, at 19 hours 57 minutes, the country experienced a partial outage of the electric power system. The system demand before the outage, again, was approximately 22,057 megawatts distributed as shown in the table on the statement, which I have signed and given to the House. Hydros 553, geothermal 800 megawatts, thermal 234, wind 334, imports 136, totaling 2057 megawatts. You will note again that was way below the generation capacity of the country or the peak power that we have seen before, so it was nothing to do with the shortage of power generation. The power supply disturbance was triggered by a trip on 80-megawatt transformers at Olkaria Two and Olkaria One and additional unit substations. Olkaria-Naivasha line 132 line also tripped at the same time. The cost was attributed to a failed jumper cable at Olkaria 1 132k substation. The substation was commissioned in 1992 and reconstruction work, in addition to upgrading of the generator, is due to commence this year. The loss of the 170 megawatts and Naivasha 132 kilovolts line resulted in increased power flow from Olkaria to Kibos 220 KV line and Suswa, Nairobi North 220 KV line. The shift in the power flows caused an overload in one of the very weak links we have in the West of Kenya, Kisumu Muhoroni, which is the very reason why we are accelerating the construction of Narok- Bomet."
}