Kenya experienced a nationwide power outage early Wednesday, plunging much of the country into darkness for several hours. According to Kenya Power (KPLC.NR), the nation’s primary electricity provider, the outage began at 1:28 a.m. local time (1028 GMT) and lasted approximately six hours before power was restored in affected areas by 7:35 a.m. local time (0435 GMT).
The exact cause of the blackout, which disrupted East Africa’s largest economy, remains undetermined. Kenya Power addressed the incident in a statement shared on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), promising further investigations to establish the source of the disruption.
The outage, described as one of several the country has faced in the past year, had far-reaching impacts. Netblocks, a global internet observatory, reported a significant drop in internet connectivity across Kenya during the blackout. The effects of the outage extended beyond Kenya’s borders, also disrupting internet services in neighboring Tanzania, according to the observatory’s updates.
Kenya Power, which serves over 9.6 million customers, has come under scrutiny as recurrent power disruptions continue to challenge its reliability. While power has been restored, the frequency of outages raises concerns about the resilience of Kenya’s electricity infrastructure in supporting its growing economic and technological demands.
Authorities and stakeholders are expected to examine the incident closely, as the nation grapples with ensuring consistent and reliable energy access for its citizens and industries.
Melissa Enoch
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