The government will connect more than one million customers to the national grid in the next 20 months in the last mile connectivity programme, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has announced.
Speaking in Nyeri County, Kindiki noted that the programme is underway across the 290 constituencies.
“This will raise the number of households connected to electricity from 2.5 million in 2013 to 9 million in 2025,” he said.
Kindiki noted that in Nyeri County, 10,903 beneficiaries have been connected, and Sh733 million has been allocated for more connections this year.
“In Kieni Constituency, Sh164 million has been allocated to connect 1,163 households, including 101 homes in Aguthi Village,” he stated.
The DP made the remarks when he launched the Aguthi Rural Electrification Project that will benefit residents, among them Lydia Wairimu Karoki, a 73-year-old mother of five and a senior citizen.
A recent survey revealed that over 60 per cent of rural households are still not connected to electricity from the national grid.
The survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that Turkana, West Pokot, and Homa Bay are the least electrified counties, in contrast to Nairobi and its neighbouring Kiambu, which have significantly higher connections.
The KNBS report reveals that 91 per cent of households in Turkana are not connected to the main electricity grid, followed by 85.2 per cent in West Pokot and 79.9 per cent in Homa Bay.
In comparison, Nairobi has the highest connection rate at 95.2 per cent, closely followed by Kiambu at 95.1 per cent.
Other counties with high electricity uptake include Murang’a at 87.3 per cent, Nyeri at 87.1 per cent, and Mombasa at 82.9 per cent.
Nationally, the report states that more than nine in 10 (91 per cent) Kenyan households have access to power, with approximately four households being connected from rural areas.
However, 62.7 per cent of rural households remain without electricity from the national grid, a stark contrast to the nine per cent in urban areas.
Counties with significant proportions of residents lacking access to electricity include Kitui (77.9 per cent), Makueni (76.6 per cent), Narok (76.4 per cent), and Siaya (76 per cent).