Energy CS Wandayi has told the Senate Plenary Committee that making Kenya’s electricity grid climate-resilient requires infrastructure upgrades, smart technologies and risk-informed planning.
He said the government is investing in smart grids and implementing flood mitigation measures after assessing substation vulnerabilities, including drainage improvements, undergrounding infrastructure and replacing wooden poles with concrete ones to enhance resilience.
Appearing before the committee on Wednesday, the CS said the energy sector must urgently modernise its systems to respond to increasing climate threats such as floods, droughts, heatwaves, storms, wildfires and extreme winds.
“To make our electricity grid more climate-proof and resilient requires a combination of infrastructure upgrades, smart technologies, policy reforms, and risk-informed planning to ensure the power system can withstand and quickly recover from climate-related shocks,” Wandayi said.
He stressed that grid modernisation is not a one-time intervention but a continuous process, noting that energy agencies are already investing in upgrades aimed at strengthening reliability and performance.
“Therefore, there is need to modernize our grid,” he said, adding that ongoing investments are focused on building a more stable and adaptive electricity system.
Wandayi highlighted the adoption of smart grid technology as a key pillar in improving network resilience and operational efficiency.
“A smart grid is more reliable, resilient, and easier to maintain as the operators can easily detect a fault and restore,” he told lawmakers.
The former Ugunja MP highlighted that such systems would also improve maintenance planning and help prevent widespread blackouts by enabling faster fault detection and restoration.
“A smart grid will enhance proper maintenance scheduling to avoid blackouts,” he added.
The CS further noted that beyond technology upgrades, human capacity is also critical in ensuring a stable power system, pointing to continued training of personnel across the energy sector.
“The resilience of a grid is not only enhanced through hardware upgrade, but also having competent and well trained personnel,” he said.
Wandayi argued institutions such as Kenya Power have been working closely with the Ministry and other agencies, including county governments and infrastructure bodies, to stabilise and strengthen the electricity network.
He also addressed the impact of recent floods on Kenya’s power infrastructure, describing the threat as significant and requiring long-term structural solutions.
“Indeed, the threat posed by floods on the power system is immense and cannot be just wished away,” Wandayi said.
Following assessments conducted after flooding incidents, the Ministry and Kenya Power identified both immediate and long-term interventions to improve resilience, particularly around vulnerable substations.
Among the medium- and long-term measures being considered are reconstructing older substations affected by changing drainage patterns and raising their levels above ground.
“Reconstructing the older stations affected by changing drainage patterns caused by newer developments to raise substation levels several meters above ground,” he said.
Other planned interventions include undergrounding power infrastructure to reduce exposure to extreme weather and replacing wooden poles with more durable concrete alternatives.
The former MP also outlined immediate remedial measures already underway following flood damage assessments.
These include improving drainage tunnels around substations in collaboration with county governments, engaging agencies such as Nairobi City County, KeNHA and KURA to clear storm water pathways, and working with road authorities to integrate better drainage systems in future infrastructure designs.
“Improving the drainage tunnels around substations in liaison with the County Governments,” he noted.
He further noted that vegetation management is part of the mitigation strategy, including cutting trees encroaching on power line wayleaves in coordination with county authorities and landowners.
“Cutting of trees in the wayleave trace in collaboration with Nairobi City County and customers,” he said.
Wandayi concluded that building a resilient electricity system requires coordinated efforts across government agencies, counties and infrastructure authorities to ensure long-term stability and climate adaptation of Kenya’s power network.