Nothing feels as good as getting home and taking an instant shower after a long day of work. This pleasure might be in its last days if the government's plan of banning hot instant showers goes through.
This comes after a recommendation for the ban of the imporatation and sale of hot instant shower heads in the country. The recommendation was made by a consultant hired by the Ministry of Energy to develop an "energy efficiency plan" for the country.
Lahmeyer International, a German firm said in the report that the water heaters "presented difficulties for electricity generation and transmission, as well as high level of power losses due to sudden spikes in power demand which only lasted a short duration."
“Instantaneous water heaters are noxious for the generation, transmission and the distribution networks as they concentrate high power demand at the same periods. By doing so, they generate high losses, voltage drops and call for expensive generation means,” read the report.
The report specifically noted the situation where all Kenyans switch on their instant showers at almost the same time in the morning which in return tends to strain the power generation and distribution systems.
In case the ban goes through, Kenyans would have to settle for expensive alternatives which most of the low income households wouldn't afford. These would include solar water heaters, geysers, and gas heaters.