By Dianah Inviolatah
Worth Noting:
- The Live Line technology has contributed significantly to a reduction in unserved energy, and improved customer satisfaction, especially in industrial areas.
- Besides testing and certification of live line equipment and tools, the Company anticipates to expand the scope of the laboratory in the medium term to include insulation verification tests and certifications for other network equipment.
- Plans are also underway to get the laboratory accredited by the Kenya Accreditation Services (KENAS) to enable it to test rubber insulating equipment for other organisations within the country and the region on a commercial basis.
Kenya Power launched a Live-Line laboratory on June 8th, 2022 at Ruaraka, Nairobi making it the first utility in the East and Central Africa to establish such a facility. The Live Line Laboratory comes 3 years after the launch of the Live Line Maintenance Programme, with the support of the World Bank under the Kenya Electricity Modernisation Project (KEMP). The laboratory was set up at a cost of Ksh.340 million, this money is part of a total of KShs.2 billion funding that the Company received from the World Bank towards the Live Line Maintenance Project. Apart from the laboratory, the funding was also utilized to purchase Live Line tools, equipment and insulated trucks as well as to train and certify staff to join the Live Line team.
The laboratory will enable the Company to test and certify Live Line work tools and equipment and realize savings in terms of payment for these services which were previously outsourced. Furthermore, it will lift efficiency within the Live Line Maintenance Programme as these services are now within the company’s control. Prior to establishment of the laboratory, the Company paid KShs.36 million annually to test the Live Line equipment. Live Line tools such as rubber gloves, link sticks, line hose tester and insulating blankets are required to be tested every six months or when need arises while the trucks are tested annually to ensure safety of staff using them. The laboratory will significantly contribute to the gains associated with the Live Line Programme such as reduction in unserved energy and improved customer satisfaction. Through the Live Line technology, new premium customers are being connected to the network without waiting for a shutdown which is a double gain in that the customers are brought on board as soon as they are ready and we are able to meet our service charter timelines for customer connections.
The Live Line technology has contributed significantly to a reduction in unserved energy, and improved customer satisfaction, especially in industrial areas. Besides testing and certification of live line equipment and tools, the Company anticipates to expand the scope of the laboratory in the medium term to include insulation verification tests and certifications for other network equipment. Plans are also underway to get the laboratory accredited by the Kenya Accreditation Services (KENAS) to enable it to test rubber insulating equipment for other organisations within the country and the region on a commercial basis.
“The Live Line Programme continues to be a critical component of the Company’s practices to ensure reliability of electricity supply as it allows maintenance of high and medium voltage network without switching off customers”, the Acting Managing Director Eng. Geoffrey Muli said.
The Live Line team currently comprises of 216 staff spread across all regions within the country and 35 trucks. The teams are currently doing an average of 2,800 live work hours per month which translates into 36,600 live work hours annually. A typical 5-hour shutdown on a line carrying 200 Amps costs the Company KShs. 250,000 in lost opportunity to sell electricity. The 35 live line teams spread across the country are able to work on at least two locations in a week that would have required an outage resulting in a minimum saving on revenue loss of KShs.17.5 million per week and KShs.1 billion annually
The Lab, which is the only one of its kind in the region, presently has six staff members comprising: two operational staff coordinating the Live Line activities across the country, a supervisor, and three technicians who do the testing.
Kenya Power remains committed to delivering clean, affordable and reliable electricity to drive the Big 4 agenda and support the realization of Vision 2030.
Email: makokhadianah9@gmail.com
Nairobi.