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{
    "id": 1398883,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1398883/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 238,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Davis Chirchir",
    "speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "When we came into office that project had been processed together with the Gilgil-Thika-Malaa and payments had been made for the counterpart funding to support the foreign side which was coming from the Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM). The payment was not enough so immediately we descope the two projects: the Loyangalani- Marsabit-Isiolo from Gilgil-Thika-Malaa. This meant that we could take Gilgil-Thika- Malaa on to a Public Private Partnership (PPP) the one I talked about- and it is advancing well. The Loyangalani-Marsabit-Isiolo then remained with the payment which represents 15 percent of the payment required as counterpart funding so that we can draw the EXIM funds and build that line. We are further descoping that project to ensure that as we build it, we can step down from 400 kilovolts (kV) to 132kV and 66kV and service that community. As we go to Isiolo we can step down from 400kV through the descoping and ensure we service the people Marsabit County as the line comes down. It is at an advanced stage. The descoping work is going on through EXIM. In principle, we are done on the Kenyan part and payment has been made. We should be seeing it as soon as we are done with our partners, China EXIM, and the line contractor going to the site because payment has already been made on the counterpart Kenya portion. As soon as we finish with China EXIM, we will not only see the big lines being built but the step down from those high voltages to those that feed the communities coming out. For the first time, together with the last mile, we shall see Loyangalani- Marsabit on the grid coming down to Isiolo where we have the 132kV line. Hon. Members we would be happy to see that region on the grid because Marsabit County is rich in wind and solar resources. As we pull the resources to the significant industry or load centers, we will be serving the communities coupled with the last mile programmes where you fund us, as Parliament. Regarding the first Question on compensation, when we have a major blackout that impacts the whole country, the point would be to establish the cause and apportion the blame. That is why you hear me reading up to the millisecond when the event occurred in order to find out whether the private investor power plant in Lake Turkana went out first and caused the problem or was it caused by the Juja Substation 220kV which came in 100 milliseconds later. That work is going on. However, hon. Members when we have a blackout it is so significant in terms of losses for the country. As I said, when we have a company like the Kenya Power where we are restructuring its balance sheet--- Kenya Power stops all the Independent Power Producers (IPP)s in terms of the partial risk guarantees that support power generation for Kenya. Unlike the banks, if one goes down, the others shall still be there. We need to take care of Kenya Power even as we go from one market player to an open market where we shall be allowing generators to produce power and wheel it to markets or load centers using the wheeling policy, which is shortly being gazetted for purposes of allowing multiple players in the industry. An unbundled market means that you should be able to generate your own power in a power plant and get Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO) to wheel it to market for you and sell it to industry, whenever you want to sell in the"
}