After a brief disruption, commissioning tests have resumed at Kengen’s Olkaria V power plant.
Activity at the power plant was initially put on hold on the evening of Friday the 12th Of July 2019, after an incident at the station left 10 workers with injuries.
While a couple of unverified reports claim that the steam pipes burst which resulted in the injuries, Kengen’s official statement however stated that the injuries was as a result of a stampede among the workers.
The statement by Kengen reads, “The incident occurred on Friday, July 12th, 2019 at about 4 pm, while the team was preparing one of the units in order to step up power from 43 megawatts (MW) to 65 megawatts (MW). The incident occurred after the operation of high-pressure safety safeguards. The safety system operated as designed but in the process, this triggered a stampede among the workers in the vicinity, some of who sustained injuries and were rushed to hospital in Naivasha.”
According to the report by the energy company, 9 employees were treated and have already been discharged, while one is currently undergoing treatment at a Nairobi Hospital.
The power plant, which is now in its last stages of construction, was commissioned by President Uhuru Kenyatta in April 2017 and costs 40 billion Kenyan Shillings.
The plant is expected to add 165 megawatts (MW) to the national grid once it is fully operational.
