---
title: "Major power outage hits Kenya, affects internet access"
description: "NAIROBI, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Kenya suffered a widespread power outage on Wednesday that affected most of the country, the nation's leading power utility Kenya Power KPLC.NR said."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-12-18-major-power-outage-hits-kenya-affects-internet-access/"
published: "2024-12-18T04:22:34"
updated: "2024-12-18T04:22:35"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 127
---

# Major power outage hits Kenya, affects internet access

> NAIROBI, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Kenya suffered a widespread power outage on Wednesday that affected most of the country, the nation's leading power utility Kenya Power KPLC.NR said.

By Reuters · Published 18 December 2024, 06:22 SAST · Updated 18 December 2024, 06:22 SAST

## Key points
- As East Africa's largest economy grapples with yet another power outage, Kenyans are left in the dark—literally and figuratively—while Kenya Power promises to shed light on the situation eventually, leaving millions wondering if the lights will ever come back on or if they're just part of a long-running reality show.
- East Africa's largest economy, Kenya, is grappling with ongoing power outages, the latest of which began early Wednesday.
- Kenya Power has yet to determine the cause, promising updates on restoration efforts.
- The blackout has severely impacted internet connectivity for over 9.6 million customers nationwide.
- Neighbouring Tanzania has also felt the effects of the outage, as reported by Netblocks.

## Content

The cause of the outage in East Africa's largest economy, which was ongoing as of 0200 GMT, is the latest in a series of [recurring power outages](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3KO097&linkedFromStory=true) the country has faced over the past year.

"We will provide an update on the progress of the power restoration process in due course," Kenya Power said, adding that the cause of the outage is yet to be determined.

Kenya Power supplies power to more than 9.6 million customers in Kenya, according to its website.

The blackout has significantly reduced internet connectivity across the country, said Netblocks, a global observatory that monitors internet access.

The outage also affected neighbouring Tanzania, the observatory added in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

(Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Nicholas Yong)