Property developers push for faster state processes
In recent years many developers' projects have been affected by delays in connection to electricity.
What you need to know:
- Delays in power connection have been attributed to non-availability of critical materials.
- The Kenya Power Company has also attributed delays in accessing materials.
On August 4, 2023, Robert Omondi, a developer, made an application to Kenya Power to have electricity connected at a project his company had undertaken in Athi River.
About 10 days after he made the application, the power distribution firm issued him with a quotation based on the type of connection he wanted, as well as other details he had included in the New Electricity Supply Form.
Upon receipt of the quotation, he proceeded to pay an engineering advance to Kenya Power, as was required.
Going by the power distribution firm’s customer charter, between seven to 28 days after payments were made, the electricity should have been connected.
However, months passed and no power connection had been done, yet the project was nearing completion.
Mr Omondi had financed the project via loans that were due for servicing soon.
Delays in connection meant that tenants could not move into the houses due to lack of electricity. Therefore, he could not make any money to repay the loans.
Having received no explanation as to why no power connections had been done, the developer attempted to contact Kenya Power via phone and later social media, but all his efforts to have the matter resolved proved futile.
He later decided to visit the Kenya Power office in Athi River to report the matter. Here, he was assured that a team would be sent to look into the issue.
Indeed, a few days later, a Kenya Power technician visited the site, notifying him that critical infrastructure such as transformers and metres were not in stock and that is why there was a delay in the connection of electricity.
Mr Omondi represents one of the many developers whose projects have been affected by delays in connection to electricity in recent years.
Unprecedented growth in real estate seems to be weighing heavily on the available lighting infrastructure.
According to data from the office of the Auditor-General, towards the end of last year, customers who had paid more than Sh12 billion to Kenya Power were yet to be connected to the grid.
Ms Grace Omwenga, the Chief Marketing Officer at Kenya Power, says there are a number of valid reasons as to why some of these delays occur.
For instance, some developers may redesign projects after they have already begun work, and this forces Kenya Power to also redesign and reroute power lines to accommodate the structural adjustments.
Other times developers may apply for connection either too early or too late into the project.
Connecting projects too early creates an easy opening for vandals to target materials such as copper wires found inside transformers for sale to scrap metal dealers.
“Unawareness among developers about electricity connections, submission timelines including premature applications which can lead to material vandalism or applications that are submitted too late which can affect our delivery timelines pose a serious challenge for our technicians,” said Ms Omwenga.
Connecting projects too early creates an easy opening for vandals to target materials.
At times also, projects stall and the lighting infrastructure is vandalised. With a transformer going for between Sh200,000 to Sh500,000, the cost of vandalism can be very high.
Kenya Power has been exploring various ways to deter vandalism because oftentimes, the power distribution firm has to bear the cost of the losses.
These includes raising transformers higher, erecting them in compounds and forming transformer surveillance committees in all the sub-counties to ensure no vandalism takes place.
Delays in power connection have also been attributed to non-availability of critical materials needed for construction such as cables, conductors, meters, and transformers.
Recently, the timely access of materials has been interfered with by supply chain disruptions occasioned by ongoing conflicts along key shipping routes such as the Red Sea and the Black Sea.
The company has also attributed delays in accessing materials to a debt amounting to Sh26 billion that the company is owed, which could be used to purchase transformers, conductors, among other critical materials.
In some instances, the firm has faced infrastructure supply delays due to procurement issues. Being a public entity, procurement processes have often been challenged by parties who fail to get tenders to supply certain equipment.
In March 2023 for instance, a multi-billion-shilling tender to supply 2,144 transformers was cancelled by the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPRB) after a petition was filed against Kenya Power by some firms on grounds that tender requirements were unfair and meant to shut out local manufacturers.
“The tender by the procuring entity breached the Constitution, Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act and government policies that promote local industries in preference over international manufactures,” the local firms claimed.
According to Kenya Power’s requirements, firms had to have 10 years manufacturing experience in order to qualify to supply the transformers, but some of the applicant companies had been registered after 2015.
Even so, the firms argued that they had previously, for more than five years, been supplying the transformers to Kenya Power and that the power distribution firm had never complained because the transformers had never malfunctioned.
"These protracted court battles have previously stopped the procurement of meters and other materials needed for connection," says Kenya Power Managing Director Joseph Siror.
While appearing before the National Assembly Energy Committee late last year, Mr Siror said some of these court cases have since been resolved and that the backlog, which stands at 320,000, is being addressed with 140,000 new transformers acquired and customers who have been waiting for the last two years connected.
“Recently, we also launched a programme dubbed Rapid Results Initiative (RRI), that seeks to connect new customers to power within 90 days from the date of application. The programme is meant to fast-track installations for new connections,” stated the MD.
There have been suggestions by some developers to have the process of importing transformers and other materials privatised, a matter which top management of the company has said is under deliberation and a proper directive will be given soon.
"We are looking at focusing on local suppliers for transformers and metres to have a continuous flow of materials thus reducing turn around timelines," says Ms Omwenga.
She urges clients to make use of the firm's business development offices in the counties for timely resolution of queries.
Clients should also quote reference numbers in payments to ensure that the power distribution firm is able to allocate their money in real time.
Kenya Power Company employee carries out repairs on a power transformer in Mombasa.
“Developers' cooperation is becoming increasingly crucial to overcoming these challenges and ensuring timely and efficient service delivery,” said Ms Omwenga.
Delays in power connection have been a major concern for developers, with some of them complaining that it has stopped them from delivering projects in a timely manner.
Others have resorted to alternative power sources such as solar as they wait to be connected to the main grid by Kenya Power.
These alternative energy sources have, however, cost them more money than they had budgeted for.
For the off-plan developers, these delays have created conflict with their buyers and investors, some of whom have opted to pull out of projects after seeing that the projects were taking too long to take off.
“When you push back the completion date, inevitably there comes a loss of trust and credibility from stakeholders, not just on the current project but on future projects as well,” notes Mr Omondi.
To top it off, he says developers often encounter delays in government approvals, which further interferes with the timely delivery of projects.
“These delays put a significant strain on the project budget as it leads to additional costs in the form of overtime pay, increased price of construction materials and other expenses,” says Mr Omondi.
When a project is delayed, the pressure to complete it on time causes contractors to cut corners and focus less on quality.
This often results in an output that doesn't match what the developer or other stakeholders expected.
While accepting that there is more which can be done to expedite approval processes, Domenic Mutegi, Director of Development Management at Nairobi City County, argues that many developers are yet to make use of the available provisions to fast-track the approval process.
“While we acknowledge the system is evolving and is not without its weaknesses, users ought to stay apprised of the constant changes,” says Mr Mutegi.
For instance, the County Government of Nairobi has developed an online system which developers can use to make and track approval applications.
The online QR Code system provides a unique identification of all approved architectural and structural plans, eliminating the need for property developers to submit hard copies of development plans for stamping upon approval.
“Delays in approvals, poor compliance enforcement, unauthorised developments and lack of public sensitisation are key concerns. To address some of these challenges, the county has rolled out an online approval system that notifies the applicant on the progress of your approvals and you can also do your approval applications online,” notes Mr Mutegi.
He states that although there is such a system in place, many developers still opt to go to the county offices for approval.
This creates room for corruption, where rogue officials may deliberately delay the approval process and tell developers that the only way to expedite the process is to part with some extra money.
The County Government of Nairobi has also formed an Urban Planning Technical Committee with key internal and external stakeholders from the built environment to ensure transparency and address the issues of endemic corruption.
“Through the Nairobi County Physical and Land Use Act, an independent court that addresses and deals with issues concerning development approvals, we aim to address these delays in approvals,” says Mr Mutegi.
The Regulation Act, currently in Parliament, will play a crucial role in assisting to address issues concerning unauthorised developments propping up everywhere.
Mr Maurice Akech, the Executive Director of the National Construction Authority (NCA), says that because a lot of regulatory processes have now been digitised, making the approval process easier and more transparent, the only thing stopping some developers and contractors from complying is pure negligence.
He says that some developers opt to go to government offices not because they do not know how to use the online approval systems, but rather because they want to cut costs or bypass the approval process altogether.
“You do not even have to walk to NCA offices to get a compliance certificate. Sit at the comfort of your home, open your laptop, visit our official website, and apply. It is free of charge for your information, but compliance is still at a worrying 40 percent,” notes Mr Akech.
Complying with statutory regulations is important not only because it helps to safeguard the lives of building occupants, but also because it helps to protect investments and boost the longevity, and profitability of developments.
Of all the factors that lead to collapse of buildings including poor workmanship, lack of professional supervision in construction, sub-standard building materials, negligence and geological weaknesses, failure to comply with guidelines has been identified as the biggest issue facing the construction sector.
Akech urges developers to also exercise caution and avoid over-reliance on middlemen who may not always have their best interests at heart while conducting transactions.
