Businesses Suffer Huge Losses as Kenya Plunges Into Darkness

A young father on Saturday shared a heartbreaking story on social media about his newborn son who died in a hospital in Central Kenya during a nationwide power outage that lasted throughout the night on Friday and into Saturday.

The hospital staff conveyed to him that the electricity supply to the incubator was disrupted during the power outage and backup generators couldn’t run for long due to insufficient resources. Sadly, more than three infants also lost their lives at the hospital. This is just one of the many stories of despondency and ache that emerged as Kenya was plunged into darkness for more than 12 hours. Thousands of small businesses, homes and manufacturers suffered significant losses as a result of the power outage, which according to Kenya Power was caused by a system disturbance.

The utility firm explains that the power distribution system and some power plants in Kenya were shut down due to a breakdown at the Lake Turkana wind power plant. The system shut down to protect itself from the fault in one of the power generating plants. Kenya Power has restored power in most parts of the country but is still working to restore the remaining areas.

Small businesses including barbershops, salons, restaurants, and entertainment spots, suffered notable financial losses during the power outage. Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)was also heavily impacted as aeroplanes could not take off or land for hours. JKIA, the aviation hub for the region, experienced a power outage, which was concerning since it lacked a backup power source.

The Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen yesterday denounced the incident and said there is no excuse for the airport being in darkness. Kenya Power announced that electricity had been restored at the airport at around 3 a.m. The Managing Director of the Kenya Airports Authority, Alex Gitari, was fired following the blackout, and Henry Ogoyo was appointed as the acting managing director.

Manufacturers had to rely on their diesel generators to keep their production lines running and prevent raw materials from going to waste. The chairman of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) laments over the damage that unplanned electricity outages can cause to plant equipment. Meanwhile, business leaders are concerned that frequent blackouts are hindering economic growth.