Nairobi, May 25 -- Kenya Power has been forced to ration electricity in the wake of supply shortcomings from wind and solar plants, triggering business disruptions and costly use of diesel generators.

Joseph Siror, the managing director of Kenya Power, said that the rationing is more pronounced when wind power generation drops to near zero, creating a deficit that cannot be offset by the other plants, notably during peak evening hours.

Three wind plants, including the 310 megawatt (MW) Lake Turkana Wind Power Project, and five solar plants account for nearly a fifth of the electricity supplied to Kenya Power.

The wind and solar plants currently lack battery storage to tap electricity generated during their peak production, when wind sp...