The water agency revealed that some of the regions will either receive low-pressure water or water shortage in its entirety.
Residents of some areas of Nairobi County began experiencing water interruptions following an interruption in water supply caused by the nationwide blackouts witnessed on Friday night, August 30.
The Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC) on Sunday morning, September 1 explained that when the power blackout occurred that night, it affected the step-down transformer at their Gigiri Pumping Station which failed to restart.
“On Friday 30 August 2024 from 9.00 pm, Nairobi City County experienced a power outage alongside the rest of the Country.
“When the power resumed at 5.30 am, our 5mva 66/3.3kva transformer step down at Gigiri Pumping Station failed to energize,” Nairobi Water said in a statement.
An image of water being filled into jerricans. /CITIZEN DIGITAL
This being highly specialized equipment, the company sought technical assistance from Kenya Power for fault diagnosis. “Since yesterday, we are with Kenya power engineers on-site working,” added the company.
The agency stated that it was unable to pump water from Gigiri Reservoir to Kabete Reservoir which supplies water to the western region of Nairobi County.
This was to augment the water supply from Sasumua and Ruiru dam which serves west of Uhuru Highway.
The water agency also revealed that some of the regions will either receive low-pressure water or water shortage in its entirety. It, however, assured its engineers were on the ground doing repair work. Â
Following this, those living around Parklands, Gigiri, United Nations-Gigiri, new Muthaiga, Nyali, Aga Khan Hospital, University of Nairobi – School of Law and City Park Area are set to be affected by the interruptions.
Residents along Naivasha Road, Kikuyu Road, the populous Kawangware area, Riruta/Satellite, Uthiru and Ndwaru will also be affected.Â
Other areas include locations around James Gichuru Road, Lang’ata Road, Waiyaki Way, Riverside, Westlands, Lavington, Kilimani and Kileleshwa.
Nairobians staying along Lang’ata Road: Madaraka, Karen, Lang’ata and Kibra, parts of South C estates have not been spared either.
“We appeal to our customers for patience and urge them to use the available water sparingly as we work towards restoring normalcy at the earliest opportunity. Any inconvenience is highly regretted,” added the company.
The power blackout, according to Kenya Power, hit most parts of the country, except the North Rift region and sections of the Western region, with Nairobi residents also not spared by the blackout wave.Â
This was an occurrence that Kenya Power said was a result of equipment failure at their Suswa Substation. The blackout lasted between 9:00 pm to 5:00 am.
The blackout was a rare one in 2024, given that the country witnessed four nationwide blackouts in 2023, two of which took place in December 2023 alone.
Power blackout in Kenya. /STANDARD DIGITAL
