Geoffrey Wandeto, a Tetu Member of Parliament, has blamed the country's electricity problems on a monopoly in the power distribution system.

This follows a 12-hour nationwide power outage that paralyzed corporate services and operations at important state sites, including Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

PHOTO | COURTESY Geoffrey Wandeto

Wandeto described the situation as "embarrassing" during a citizen TV show, adding Kenya's over-reliance on Kenya electricity as the sole electricity provider needs to be questioned.

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"We've all seen what occurred when we relied solely on one phone operator. This whole distribution liberalization idea is long overdue. If we had two distributors, perhaps the second would be operational when the first was not," he speculated.

PHOTO | COURTESY KPLC workers

According to the legislator, there is a need to open the electricity distribution sector to various participants, similar to how the country's many independent power producers (IPPs) operate.

"In the same way that we have liberalised generation, and now we have IPP, despite the difficulties we have with them... has shifted our problem from generation to distribution." "It's because we have a monopoly," Wandeto explained.

Following the blackout on Friday, power producers Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) and distributor Kenya Power (KPLC) exchanged accusations.

PHOTO | COURTESY KPLC 

While KPLC accused the power supplier and said it dispatched engineers to the wind farm to determine what caused the unexpected outage, LTWP stated on Saturday that it was not to fault.

Wandeto stated on Tuesday that blaming was not the solution, saying, "The important thing is not this blaming." A technological issue must be investigated; it is about establishing a sustainable electricity infrastructure to support the country."

Following the power outage at KPLC, Kipchumba Murkomen, the transport Cabinet Secretary, fired Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) Managing Director Alex Gitari and General Manager Project and Engineering Services Fred Odawo.