I was about last year August when things became thick for the Mumias Sugar company. according to the firm’s chairman Kennedy Ngumbau, the sugar factory lost its electricity connection in August last year over a Ksh1.2 billion bill it owes Kenya Power.
Mumias Sugar is now ready to pick up their tools of trade on Sunday after it sold scrap metal to pay part of its huge outstanding electricity bill.
The factory is already collecting cane from a few farmers and its nucleus plant in preparation for milling as well as running of other revenue streams such as co-generation and ethanol production, which had been paralyzed by power disconnection.
“The supply of electricity is now back as we have been reconnected by Kenya Power. We are resuming milling on February 17,” said Ngumbau.
The Kakamega-based miller’s woes worsened in September last year when the power utility firm disconnected electricity over outstanding bills.
The firm had to sell scrap metal for the Ksh2 million paid to Kenya Power before the two parties could reach an agreement to restore power.
It is also seeking about Ksh5 billion from the Treasury to, among other things, settle bills to farmers and electricity bill.
“We have been in constant negotiations with the power firm and we agreed to be paying the amount that we owe them in instalments until we clear the outstanding debt,” he said.
Mumias had earlier suffered a serious shortage of cane as disgruntled farmers lowered acreage of crop while others sold to rival millers because of delays in payment.
The firm will mainly rely on its own plantation to resume operations as they scout for more raw material from growers. Mumias relies on sugarcane as its key raw material for the running of other revenue streams such cogeneration and ethanol production.
It resumed selling electricity to Kenya Power last year and it was exporting about 55% of its daily output to the national grid before running out of raw material.