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Kenya currently has the largest economy in East Africa and a burgeoning middle class.  Since 1997, the Kenyan power sector has achieved considerable progress.  Some 2.8 million customers (37 percent of the population) have an electricity connection.  The grid has been extended to the majority of market centers, and the connection of all secondary schools to the grid is due to be completed by 2016.  But this success masks the state of electricity in the country’s rural communities, where 24 million Kenyans live off the grid. 

The Kenyan government is committed to reform its energy programs, with a target of 70 percent electrification by 2016 and 100 percent access by 2020 -- which translates into one million new connections every year for the next six years. 

Several challenges must be addressed to meet these targets.  The quality of electricity supply in Kenya is poor, characterized by frequent breakdowns, low voltage, and long outage restoration time, often due to a lack of proper planning, and substandard technologies and materials such as wooden poles.  In addition, the cost of household connections are too high for most families, so that networks constructed in rural areas are underutilized.

Seeking global insights to help solve Kenya’s energy challenge, Kenya’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, together with the World Bank, organized a National Electrification Workshop in September 2014.  The workshop was supported by ESMAP through the Africa Renewable Energy and Access program (AFREA).

The two-day workshop, held in Nairobi, showcased experiences in Peru, Vietnam, Brazil and Uruguay, all countries that have achieved success in their electrification programs.  The workshop brought together nearly 150 participants, representing government stakeholders, utility companies, donors and civil society. After the presentations and interactive discussions, participants agreed:  To achieve universal access in Kenya, a more radical national electrification approach is needed. 

In Vietnam, the national Rural Electrification Program connected 16.3 million of the country’s households, and rural access is now at 83 percent.  The World Bank was involved with three rural energy projects and contributed to the government’s success story.

Several factors propelled the expansion, said Văn Tiến Hùng, World Bank Senior Energy Specialist in Vietnam. These included a high demand from the Vietnamese people for electricity infrastructure, and a strong commitment from Vietnamese central and local government.  The program was “an evolving process” Hùng added, with the flexibility to adapt policies and regulations as the program reached more difficult topographic conditions.  In addition, the program was led by a state owned corporation, Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), and funding was provided by multiple sources.  Miguel Revolo, World Bank energy consultant, discussed Peru’s national electrification experience from 1992 to 2004 when the access rate rose from 49 percent to 92 percent, (70 percent in rural areas), and connected a total of 6.5 million customers to electricity. 

To expand electrification to more remote areas, the government instituted reforms to separate generation, transmission and distribution activities.  To promote universal access, the government provided investment subsidies to power companies.  Any tariffs charged to new rural consumers were capped at the maximum regulated urban tariff, Revolo said.

Following the discussions, Hon. Davis Chirchir, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, listed seven lessons to help guide Kenya’s electricity expansion to reach more families living off the grid:

• Reduce or eliminate connection fees to help poor rural families achieve electricity access.

• Enable communal ownership of electrification projects to reduce costs and help to reduce vandalism.

• Ensure unwavering government commitment in response to strong demand from society to keep the program moving forward.

• Establish long-term government vision and a planned, gradual approach that allows for some flexibility.

• Design the program for State Corporations to lead the rural electrification strategy.

• Make technical choices that are suitable for the area.

• Support transparency in the planning and prioritization of projects.

After the workshop, Kenyan stakeholders and government officials expressed interest in receiving further support and technical assistance from the World Bank to accelerate the preparation of Kenya’s National Electrification Strategy.

Published on: 

 02/23/2015