Kenya Power has revealed that a technical disturbance on the national grid was responsible for the nationwide blackout that affected large parts of the country on Wednesday night, July 29.
The electricity distributor confirmed that power had been restored to all affected customers by 2:00am on Thursday, July 30, after engineers resolved the issue that disrupted supply across several regions.
In a statement, Kenya Power said its teams worked through the night to stabilise the system and restore electricity in phases.
“We are pleased to report that power supply was fully restored to all affected customers by 2:00am today,” Kenya Power stated.
The national grid is the backbone of Kenya’s electricity system, connecting power generation plants to consumers through high-voltage transmission lines, substations, and local distribution networks.
The system is managed from the Kenya Power National Control Center in Nairobi, while a new National System Control Centre is being developed in Embakasi to strengthen monitoring and coordination. A backup control facility at the Coast also provides additional support to maintain continuity during emergencies.
Kenya’s electricity network depends on several major generation centres. The Olkaria geothermal fields near Naivasha provide a significant portion of the country’s electricity supply, while hydroelectric power is generated from the Seven Forks stations along the Tana River, including Masinga, Kamburu, Gitaru, Kindaruma, and Kiambere.
The Lake Turkana Wind Power project in Marsabit also plays an important role by supplying renewable energy to the national grid through the transmission network.
Key substations help distribute electricity efficiently across the country. Suswa Substation, located about 80 kilometres northwest of Nairobi, serves as one of Kenya’s largest switching stations, linking major power sources including Olkaria, Lake Turkana, and regional transmission connections. Juja Substation is another critical facility where power from different generation sources is integrated to support Nairobi and surrounding areas.
The blackout began intensifying at around 9:00pm on Wednesday, leaving Nairobi, the Coast region, Mt Kenya, and most parts of the Rift Valley without electricity.
However, several areas in the North Rift, including Turkana, West Pokot, Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Nandi, and Baringo, were largely unaffected and continued receiving power. Parts of Western Kenya, including Kitale, Eldoret, and Kapenguria, also remained connected during the outage.
Kenya Power restored electricity gradually as engineers worked to bring key substations back online.
At around 10:11pm, the company announced that Lanet, Naivasha, and Juja Road substations had been energised, allowing some customers in Central Rift and Nairobi to begin receiving power.
“Lanet, Naivasha and Juja Road substations have been energised, thus some customers in Central Rift and Nairobi are expected back on supply shortly,” Kenya Power said.
By 11:32pm, electricity had been restored in Mt Kenya, North Rift, Western Kenya, South Nyanza, and parts of Nairobi.
The remaining areas of Nairobi and the Coast region, including Malindi, Kwale, Lamu, Kilifi, and Taita Taveta counties, were reconnected in the early hours of Thursday morning before Kenya Power confirmed full restoration at 2:00am.
The prolonged outage affected businesses, disrupted operations for small traders, and interrupted essential services that rely on a stable electricity supply. The incident highlighted the country’s heavy dependence on a reliable national grid to support economic activities and daily life.