Universal Access to Electricity in Kenya Set to be Achieved by 2022

The government of Kenya launched the Kenya National Electrification Strategy (KNES) in partnership with the World Bank in a roadmap to achieving universal access to electricity for all Kenyans by 2022.

With the help of the geospatial tool, the strategy has identified least-cost options for bringing electricity to households and businesses throughout the country.

The strategy recognizes the key role played by off-grid options, mini-grids and stand-alone solar systems that complement grid extension and intensification. Above all, it highlights the crucial role that the private sector will need to play in providing off-grid solutions for Kenyan homes, businesses and community service centers in remote parts of the country.

About one billion people in the world lack access to electricity. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia continue to be the areas of the world with the largest access deficit. Under the business-as-usual scenario, as many as 700 million people will continue to live without electricity in 2030 and 90 percent of them will be in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Universal access to electricity is a key requirement for meeting Kenya’s development goals under Vision 2030 of becoming a newly industrialized and middle-income country.

Kenyan households and businesses will need competitively-priced, reliable, safe and sustainable energy to deliver on its Big Four Agenda priorities: affordable housing, manufacturing, food security, and universal healthcare.

The Electrification Strategy will deploy geospatial technology to develop a mechanism that provides objective planning data. This data will assist national and county policymakers in making informed decisions regarding grid and off-grid investments required for electric service providers.

Alongside the KNES launch, the government also launched The Electricity Sector Investment Prospectus which presents the investment opportunities in the energy sector over the next 5 years valued at about $14.8 billion.

The Prospectus will help investors and financiers to identify suitable project opportunities. The Prospectus covers opportunities in power generation, transmission, distribution, off-grid electrification, mini-grids, and solar systems for homes and institutions.