School, Estate petition Energy Ministry after transformer stolen during nationwide blackout
The site where a transformer was stolen along Njathaini Road during the nationwide blackout last month.
Residents of Picken Gardens Estate in Kiambu County have appealed to the Ministry of Energy for help after a Kenya Power transformer was stolen during last Friday's national blackout, leaving them in the dark.
The blackout also affected neighbouring estates and key facilities including Consolata School, Kiambu and Zimmerman Clinics.
The residents and the management of Consolata School wrote letters to the Ministry of Energy on Tuesday, August 29, complaining that they had been left in the dark for days without electricity without any response from Kenya Power. Both letters were received on August 31, 2023.
In the letter penned by Consolata School and addressed to the ministry's Principal Secretary Alex Wachira and CS Davis Chirchir, the management requested that a transformer that was stolen along Njathaini Road on Friday, August 25, 2023, be replaced.
"We wish to inform you that due to the above issue, we have not had electricity since August 25, 2023. As a learning institution, this has inconvenienced us in many ways," reads part of the letter.
Some of the ways the school said it has been affected include; insecurity during the night, inability of students to use the computer and science laboratories and the high consumption of generators in the school.
The letter, which was also copied to Dr Joseph Siror, Kenya Power Managing Director, Dr Francis Memia, Kenya Power Kiambu Branch County Business Manager and Mr Kimani Mugo, Zimmerman County Representative, also asked the Ministry of Energy to ensure that the request is prioritised for the betterment of the students.
Residents of Picken Gardens also raised similar concerns saying three areas including the estate, Angels Ville Gardens, Consolata School and Zimmerman Pickens Dispensary have been affected since the transformer was stolen.
The letter was signed by Mr Eric Muraguri and Mr Humphrey Lilech, the chairman of Angels Ville Gardens.
According to them, the power outage has suddenly created an immediate state of insecurity in the area, homes have also suffered significant loss due to spoiled food, the school is also struggling to store certain laboratory reagents that require refrigeration and the hospital has also been affected.
"We therefore humbly request your able office to facilitate a priority replacement of the transformer to avert the ongoing crisis. Finally, in view of the gravity and urgency of this matter, we, as representatives of the affected parties, offer to meet with you at a time and place of your convenience and will follow up on this meeting with your office upon receipt of our letter," the letter added.
Locals say the original location of the transformer was inside the estate, where security was tight.
However, a team from Kenya Power moved it from the secure location to another insecure site without consulting the community.
"In the new location, it was placed too low for anyone to access even the fuses. We hope that the hanging wires will be disconnected as they pose a danger to the school children passing by," the letter concluded.
