NAKURU, Kenya — Kenya Power, through its Institute of Energy Studies and Research (IESR), has launched a wildlife protection initiative aimed at reducing electrocution of birds of prey and other animals along the country’s electricity transmission network.
The project, implemented in partnership with US-based Kaddas Enterprises, will involve retrofitting selected sections of power lines identified as high-risk wildlife electrocution “hotspots” with protective insulating covers designed to minimise contact between animals and live electrical components.
The rollout was officially launched at Soysambu Conservancy in Nakuru County, approximately 130 kilometres northwest of Nairobi, an ecologically sensitive habitat known for frequent wildlife–power line interactions.
The conservancy is a key habitat for raptors such as the Martial Eagle and Augur Buzzard, species that often perch on pylons and transmission structures while hunting, increasing their risk of fatal electrocution.
Kenya Power says the Lanet–Naivasha Interconnector, which passes through the conservancy, has recorded repeated outages linked to wildlife contact, including incidents involving birds and larger animals such as giraffes.
Eng. Henry Pwani, Head of Research at IESR, said the initiative is designed to balance the expansion of energy infrastructure with environmental conservation.
“Wildlife is part of our national heritage which heavily drives our tourism sector. Equally, Kenya Power’s role in energy distribution is a key component of our country’s economic growth,” he said.
“Our aspiration is to ensure peaceful co-existence between nature and the energy infrastructure.”
Pwani added that wildlife-related incidents, alongside human activities, contribute significantly to power disruptions, with Kenya Power estimating that wildlife contact accounts for about 30 per cent of outages, while broader external factors contribute up to 50 per cent.
The five-year partnership is expected to significantly reduce both wildlife fatalities and power interruptions along affected transmission corridors.
“By safeguarding wildlife, we are also improving power supply reliability to give a better experience for our customers. This is a win-win situation for the environment and our business,” Pwani said.
Kenya Power officials say lessons drawn from the Soysambu pilot will inform wider national rollout across identified hotspot corridors in the country’s transmission network.
According to Wesley Kerich, Kenya Power’s County Business Manager for Nakuru, the Lanet–Naivasha line serves a significant portion of Nakuru County, making it a critical test case for the intervention.
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“This line serves a big part of Nakuru County and by undertaking this project here, we are looking forward to picking lessons that will be helpful as the project is rolled out to other hotspot areas across the country,” he said.
Beyond physical retrofitting of power infrastructure, the initiative also includes a training component targeting Kenya Power technical teams.
The programme aims to build internal capacity on wildlife-sensitive infrastructure design and create long-term “champions” within the utility to integrate conservation considerations into future energy planning and construction.
Kenya Power says the broader objective is to ensure that expansion of the national grid does not come at the expense of biodiversity, particularly in ecologically sensitive tourism and conservation zones.
