Kenya Power plans to construct a new substation at the Salgaa area in Rongai, Nakuru County in readiness for the upcoming industrial hub in the new city.
Kenya Power Central Rift regional manager David Syengo said the company is aware of the “changing face of Salgaa” as an industrial hub and plans to construct a substation.
Following the elevation of Nakuru Town to City status, many investors are heading to the area to set up manufacturing units to tap into the new markets.
“We’re working on how to construct a substation in the area as manufacturing industries come up to improve the quality of power supply and cater for a growing customer base,” David Syengo Kenya Power Central Rift regional manager.
He further revealed that 65 per cent of the energy sale in the region with more than 1 million customers is sold to the manufacturers.
Although he did not give the cost of constructing the substation, according to industry experts the cost of setting up a modest substation ranges between Sh200million and Sh300million.
At the same time, he said that the company has also upgraded its lines in the industrial area in Nakuru City.
“We have created alternative lines between Lanet and Soilo to stabilize the grid and this has come with the stability of power which our customers are now enjoying…We have long lines like the ones supplying Maralal town in Samburu county which come from Lanet. We want to shorten the feeder lines in collaboration with other government agencies,” David Syengo.
In the last financial year 2020/2021 kenya power connected 112,000 customers in the region and in the current financial year of 2021/2022 it targets to connect 82,800 customers and by December last year, 48,000 customers were connected which translates to 56 per cent connections. Currently 8,000 smart meters have been installed in the region.
Already the Sh5.8 billion Simba Cement factory plant owned by Devki Group’s National Cement Company (NCC) is in operation in the area. The plant with an annual capacity of 750,000 tonnes has been in operation since 2020.
Other manufacturing enterprises that have set base at Salgaa include Royal Group Industries, Sameer Agriculture and Livestock Limited, and Ganglong International, a Chinese company that majors in roofing materials among others.
Read also; Kenya Power borrows KSh 6.8 Billion from NCBA.
