Homa Bay County Commissioner Ronald Mwiwawi has issued a notice to residents who have put up structures along Sondu-Ndhiwa high-voltage power lines to remove them before Thursday this week.
He said the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) would power that line this week to ensure a reliable supply of power to the region.
He noted that the presence of structures along the high-voltage power line between Sondu Miriu and Ndhiwa had delayed the operationalisation of the Ndhiwa substation.
Mwiwawi said construction of the line which supplies electricity from the Sondu-Miriu hydropower station to the greater lake region was now complete.
He noted that the powering of the line could not be done because some people still had their houses near or under high-voltage power lines, although they had been compensated.
The line evacuates electricity from the Sondu Miriu hydropower plant to a substation at Ongeng in Kanyamwa Kologi, with another line connected to the Awendo substation.
Eng. Justine Muna, a Senior Manager in charge of project management and construction at KETRACO, said notice had been given out for people who still resided along the line to leave.
He explained that the line has what experts call minimum electrical clearance, which is the horizontal clearance from the power mast to prevent arc flash.
“There is usually a flashover. When the line is on, people can be electrocuted,” he said, adding that structures under the wayleaves cause power to be unstable, affecting electricity supply over a large area.
The Manager called on people who are still close to the line to move out for their own safety.
He noted that the supply is a critical infrastructure development designed to stabilise the power supply in South Nyanza.
Eng. Muna explained that the company did not face major challenges when the line was being constructed, as members of the public cooperated except for a few who chose to be defiant.
“We have had power blackouts and load shedding in the region. We want to solve this. We are now asking those who have put structures on the line to move out,” Eng Muna said, adding that KETRACO had sought the help of security officers to help them remove rogue inhabitants along the line.
Muna said there were at least seven structures directly below the line identified as category one culprits and maintained that the people had no option but to vacate the areas as soon as possible.
“Communication was made early enough for structures under the wayleaves to be removed,” the Engineer noted.
He said the economy needs to grow, with power supply being essential in ensuring this happens.
“There are some structures which are near the line but are not occupied. We ask the local community to join us in bringing them down,” he said.
Muna said the government is committed to ensuring there is a reliable power supply to encourage investments.
By Davis Langat
