Kenya Power has admitted that only a small fraction of over 20,000 faulty transformers lying unused in its storage yards across the country can be salvaged, with just 2,300 units confirmed fit for repair.

The disclosure was made during a tense session with the National Assembly Committee on Energy, where lawmakers demanded answers over recurring power outages affecting many households nationwide.

Appearing before the committee on Thursday, Kenya Power Managing Director and CEO Joseph Siror said that most of the damaged transformers are beyond recovery.

“Most of the remaining units are beyond repair, with some being mere shells stripped of all functional components,” he said.

The MPs expressed deep concern over the state utility’s performance, blaming Kenya Power for what they described as poor planning and a slow response to widespread outages.

They said the continued storage of unusable equipment was unacceptable, given the prolonged blackouts in many regions.

Ruiru MP Simon King’ara described the Roysambu storage yard as an “eyesore” and called for immediate action. “KPLC should expedite repairs and make the usable units available to restore power in underserved areas,” he said.

In response, Siror defended the company, citing vandalism, illegal connections, and power surges as the main causes of transformer failure. He said informal settlements had become hotspots for such damage. “The challenge is particularly severe in informal settlements where illegal power tapping leads to frequent transformer and fuse blowouts,” he told the committee.

Siror further revealed that Kenya Power had stopped selling damaged transformers to scrap metal dealers to prevent the materials from being used to vandalise other electrical infrastructure. “Instead, we repurpose the shells and carry out repairs in our internal workshops,” he said.

Some legislators raised alarm over possible internal sabotage, suggesting that some Kenya Power staff and contractors could be involved in activities that worsen the situation. “There is a growing suspicion that some rogue KPLC staff and contractors may be behind these acts,” said Nambale MP Geoffrey Mulanya.

Mulanya also took issue with the long delays in restoring power to affected areas, some of which have been in the dark for over five months.

Embakasi South MP Julius Mawathe echoed the concerns, saying that residents of Mukuru kwa Njenga and Mukuru kwa Reuben had endured constant disconnections.

“Residents of these areas are being plunged into darkness for extended periods without a clear solution,” he said.

Siror maintained that illegal connections have overwhelmed the power network in such areas.

“This has been a long-standing issue in these areas. We need to clean up and inspect the entire power network to find the real causes of these failures before we can do replacements,” he said.

Committee chairperson David Gikaria said while the company’s efforts to fight vandalism were acknowledged, more needed to be done.

“We support measures against vandalism, but we must ensure efficiency and accountability. Kenyans deserve better,” he said.