KENYA POWER PARTNERS WITH NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE IN 225M NETWORK DIGITIZATION EXERCISE

Kenya Power partners with National Youth Service in 225M network digitization exercise

 

 

 

By Correspondent

 

 

 

Kenya Power has partnered with the National Youth Service (NYS) to

fast-track the Facilities Database (FDB) digital platform data clean-

up exercise to facilitate the digitization of the network, and provide

the framework for the grid automation project.

 

 

 

The Facilities Data Base digital platform, is a Geographical

Information System (GIS) application, through which the Company

captures analyses, manages and stores its transmission and

distribution facilities data.

 

 

 

The countrywide exercise, which has been funded by the World

Bank under the Kenya Electricity Management Programme (KEMP)

at a cost of Kshs.225 million, will be covered by 770 NYS officers, 700

servicemen and women, and 70 supervisors. It kicks off on the

19^th of July.

 

 

 

“With a 99-year history, Kenya Power is a long standing business

with assets covering the length and breadth of this country. The

objective of this exercise is to create visibility of the network on the

FDB digital platform for efficient and effective service delivery,” said

Bernard Ngugi, Kenya Power’s Managing Director and CEO.

 

 

 

The Company has so far digitized 70% of its network comprising 83

transmission substations, 295 primary substations, 73,486

secondary substations (transformers)and 77,990.69Kms of high and

medium voltage lines.

 

 

 

The NYS partnership will cover the remaining 30% which will

include the digitisation of 166,623.84Kms of low voltage lines, and

over 8.2 million customer meters. Customer meters will also be

linked to their respective transformers to reflect their current

physical locations.

 

 

 

“Updating the Company’s data on the Facilities Database Digital

platform will provide us with an accurate inventory of all our

physical assets in order to enhance our technical and operational

efficiency,” said Kenya Power Managing Director & CEO Mr. Bernard

Ngugi.

 

 

 

The data clean-up project will enable the business to conduct

precise energy measurement which will in turn aid the business in

identifying losses’ hotspots to facilitate effective remedial action.

 

 

 

The digitisation exercise will also assist the Company to identify

overloaded, under-utilised, and imbalanced transformers to enable

us take corrective action.

 

 

 

With the clear mapping of customer meters, the Company will also

be able to improve on billing as well as revenue collection.

 

 

 

Additionally, digitising the network will also have a positive impact

on the design stage of the connectivity process, since designers will

no longer have to make field visits, making the process faster and

more efficient.

 

 

 

The Kenya Power and Lighting Company PLC (Kenya Power) owns

and operates most of the electricity transmission and distribution

system in the country and sold electricity to over 8.2 million

customers as at end of May 2021.

 

 

 

The Company’s vision is to be Kenya’s energy solutions provider of

choice by providing quality and reliable service to power people for

better lives and enable the country’s socio-economic development in

a sustainable manner.