EXPLAINED: Why Some Houses Have Power While Others Nearby Go Dark During an Outage

Kenya Power has explained why some homes in the same neighbourhood can remain connected to electricity while others experience an outage.

According to a statement dated September 4, the company said the difference is often linked to the way electricity is distributed from transformers through different phases.

Kenya Power explained that electricity from a transformer is distributed to various outputs using different phases.

“Have you ever had an experience where a few houses in the neighbourhood have power and others have an outage? From the transformer, electricity is distributed to various outputs using different phases,” read part of the statement.

Understanding Single-Phase and Three-Phase Electricity

The company noted that this is where the terms single-phase and three-phase come in when customers apply for electricity connections.

When one phase develops a fault, customers connected to that particular phase may lose power while those connected to other phases can continue receiving electricity.

Also Read: Kenya Power Explains Power Outages in Parts of Nairobi

This can result in a situation where some residents in the same neighbourhood have electricity while others are left without power.

Kenya Power also said maintaining a reliable power supply requires the load on each phase to be properly balanced.

Load balancing involves sharing electricity demand relatively evenly across the three electricity supply lines, or phases.

The company highlighted that balancing the load helps prevent one phase from carrying excessive demand, which can affect the transformer’s output and the reliability of electricity supply.

“To offer a reliable power supply, the load on each of the phases should be balanced, which simply means sharing the electricity demand evenly across the three electricity supply lines, or phases,” the company said.

Kenya Power Warns Customers Against Switching Phases

The company urged customers not to switch phases in their meter boxes when one phase becomes unavailable.

Instead, customers have been advised to report the problem through Kenya Power’s official channels and allow its technical teams to address the fault safely.

Customers experiencing an electricity outage can report the issue through *977# or the MyPower App.

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Kenya Power said reporting faults allows its teams to assess the problem and take the necessary measures to restore supply safely.

The warning comes as Kenya Power teams conduct customer sensitisation in the PCEA Maziwa area of Kahawa West on the importance of load balancing.

The sensitisation exercise is also aimed at helping customers understand why they should not interfere with their meter boxes when experiencing phase-related outages.

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A photo showing technicians from Kenya Power working on power outage in an area . Photo/ Kenya Power