Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) has issued a clarification regarding the national power supply interruption that affected various parts of Kenya since Friday.
Contrary to certain social media reports and statements by Kenya Power, LTWP asserts that it is not responsible for the current power outage.
The interruption in its operations was due to an overvoltage situation within the national grid system, prompting the wind power plant to automatically shut down to prevent extensive damage.
"Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) wishes to assert that it has not caused the current power outage," LTWP statement read.
"LTWP was forced to go offline and stop generation following an overvoltage situation in the national grid system which, to avoid extreme damage, causes the wind power plant to automatically switch off."
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Preliminary reports and analysis conducted by independent industry stakeholders have lent credence to the conclusion that the grid system's overvoltage triggered this issue.
LTWP revealed when the incident occurred, LTWP was generating 270MW of power out of the national total of 1855MW (14.6 per cent).
The sudden decrease in power generation following the grid system's instability led to a disruption in the national power supply.
According to LTWP. typically, this kind of interruption would have been compensated for by other power generators within the system.
Since the forced shutdown on Friday evening, LTWP has not managed to restart its operations.
The situation LTWP said has been exacerbated by further interruptions and outages in the national grid system, which are beyond LTWP's control and have prevented the wind power plant from being brought back online.
The resolution of these ongoing grid system issues is necessary before LTWP can resume its operations.
"Since LTWP was forced to switch off on Friday evening, the plant has not yet been brought back into operation," LTWP said.
"During this period there have been further interruptions and outages in the national grid system which also remain beyond the scope of LTWP and, in fact, prevent us from bringing the plant back online until these have been resolved."
LTWP reaffirms its unwavering commitment to collaborating with all industry stakeholders to ensure a consistent supply of affordable renewable energy.
In light of these developments, LTWP's response sheds light on what may have been the true cause of the power outage, attributing it to an overvoltage occurrence in the national grid system.
The wind power plant's automatic shutdown, designed to prevent further harm, emphasizes the intricate balance necessary to maintain a stable power supply.