[2008-04-08]  KPLC decries widespread damage of transformers
The Kenya Power & Lighting Company has condemned the vandalism of transformers across the country.

The parastatal revealed that between November last year and last month, 20 transformers were damaged in Machakos district, with the attendant loss amounting to about Sh3 million.

The parastatal said it has suffered lost business opportunities as well as high replacement costs. Businesses and services that depend on electricity to operate also feel the pinch, which are attributable to power outages linked to vandalism.

Some of the transformers destroyed in Machakos supply power to five boreholes in the dry eastern part of the country. Transformers serving a market, a coffee factory and a church in the area were also affected.

Statistics of last year show that Nairobi region, which covers Machakos district and its environs, leads in vandalism, estimated at 77 per cent of all reported cases countrywide. Mt Kenya follows at 12 per cent and Western Kenya at nine per cent.

It is believed that vandals target transformer oil and copper, which readily sell in the black market.
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