Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 663053,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/663053/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 34,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mwakulegwa",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 101,
        "legal_name": "Danson Mwazo Mwakulegwa",
        "slug": "danson-mwazo"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, Sen. (Dr.) Machage wanted to know when the Kegati-Awendo Substation will be completed. The project is ongoing. There was a breakdown of the machinery and it was replaced by 16th May, 2016. Therefore, the Kegati-Awendo line is still in progress. Sen. Obure wanted to know why the Kenya Power telephone lines do not work whenever there are issues and they are called. There are ten telephone lines, but there is an emergency line, 95551. If you call that number it will lead you to a call centre where you will be assisted. I have done that severally and there is no time I have failed to get a response from the emergency call centre. Sen. Billow wanted to know the reliability of power supply in Mandera and whether thermal power generation still exists. There is a table that I provided to Sen. Obure. From last year to date, geothermal energy has continued to outperform thermal energy. But we still need thermal energy, because our current demand is about 2,500 megawatts. Currently, we are producing 2,361 megawatts. We will continue using thermal energy until the green energy – geothermal – is accelerated and loaded to the national grid. That is why we continue having thermal energy, which is a bit expensive. With regard to Mandera, I do not have an answer right away. I could provide an answer later, specifically on the power supply to his county. Sen. Ndiema wanted to know why some schools are being connected to solar energy and not the national grid. I do not know the criteria being used to connect schools, but I can provide that information later. What I know is that if a school is within 600 metres from a transformer they will be connected to the national grid. Sen. Okong’o asked why the policy on tariffs remains unchanged for three years. Whenever a policy is adopted it takes time to be changed. The standing charges have remained constant; what has changed is the consumption rate. That is why the bills fluctuate. Sen. Khaniri wanted to know why consumers continue being charged highly on a monthly basis. In my response, I have provided an example of so many bills by Kenya Power Company. They show that the baseline and fixed costs do not change. What changes is the consumption. The billing has remained constant and I gave an example of the foreign exchange. We can follow up with the Kenya Power to do something about the billing. As we continue to produce more power, Kenyans expect the electricity charges to go down. However, the bills for heavy commercial and industrial users have drastically reduced because they consume electricity heavily. Sen. Karaba wanted to know how far the laptops project has been implemented given that it requires power. I gave an answer sometime back indicating that over 20,000 The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}