- Kenya’s electricity access is now at 76.49%, with 8.2 million connected consumers.
- Thermal sources will generate only 6.5% of total electricity.
- KenGen accounts for 62.98% of the country’s effective generation capacity.
According to the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), Kenya’s electricity access is now 76.49 percent, with 8.2 million consumers connected. This is according to the organization’s “2021 Energy and Petroleum Statistics Report,” released on Thursday. Compared to Kenya, only 24% of Uganda’s 40 million people had access to electricity in January 2021, whereas Tanzania plans to double its electrification rates to 75% by 2033. According to the regulator, Kenya had 876,961 households connected to the grid by May 2021.
According to the report, renewable energy generated 92.3 percent of Kenya’s electricity in 2020, with geothermal, hydro, and wind contributing 43.6, 36.5, and 11.5 percent respectively. Thermal sources generated only 6.5 percent of total electricity in 2020.
“Kenya’s energy sector has grown and developed tremendously since independence, with paradigm shifts in utility regulations and structures in the electricity and petroleum sub-sectors occurring over time,” said EPRA Director-General Daniel Kiptoo. The success of wind power development was cemented with the commissioning of Kipeto Energy Limited’s 100MW wind power plant. In addition, the commissioning of additional Selenkei Solar and Kian-thumbi Hydropower plants, with installed capacities of 40MW and 0.5MW, respectively, boosted renewable energy generation.
KenGen, accounts for 62.98 percent of the country’s effective generation capacity, with IPPs accounting for 35.95 percent. The remaining 1.07% comes from isolated grid generation under the Rural Electrification Program. The country’s electricity transmission and distribution network covered 248,834km by June 2021.