[kictanet] Worst service providers

[Peter Wakaba]

About the outages, we are victims of our own success.

1. that economic growth we are always talking about. our reserve margin is
very narrow and all but evaporates in the evenings and if it is cold. The
lines are overloaded in most places, think those tall flats in all parts of
Nairobi but with no support infrastructure. its just like water. for most
places in Nairobi water rationing or mass storage is now a part of life.
its just that no one has figured a way out for power.

2. it will be worse at the end of the first quarter next year when we go
into the cold season and demand goes up. The cement factories in Athi
river( there's five of them now) consume massive amounts of power. they get
priority because they pay a direct tax and have a lobby group. you get shut
off because that is not ua most productive hour and its not their concern
to keep you comfortable.

3. Our newest power plant will be a 300 MW thermal coal plant in Kilifi...
why i don't know. may be its water cooled. But me think someone has
earmarked the coast for a large commercial industrial upgrade. Choice
between more expensive electricity or rationing... ( the government intends
to keep inflation figures low so ua guess is as good as mine.)

4. when u mix the road works, accidental faults, old infrastructure that
doesn't like rain or lightning, scheduled maintenance and rationing, the
picture is rather bleak.. or dark as one might see it.

5. on a lighter note i would like to know what Washington keeps in his
fridge since he no longer stores 'perishables' in there'
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20121126/74ba342f/attachment.htm>