PHOTO: KENYA POWER [X]
Consumption of electricity in Kenya has hit a record high of 2,316 Megawatts following the rising demand by Kenyans.
Kenya Power and Lightning Company in a report released on Monday said the growth of demand has been attributed to the huge investments which have been made around the country.
''The growth in demand has largely been driven by investment in the stabilization of the National Grid and the construction of key projects including the completion of the Kimuka 220/66kV substation by KETRACO, from which Kenya Power built four 66kV feeder lines to Nairobi and adjacent counties,'' the report read.
Kenyans' consumption passed the 2,000 Megawatts threshold back in 2021 which was then followed by a peak of over 2,100MW before failing to reach 2,200 MW in 2021.
The demand, however, later regained momentum in June 2024.
''Looking at the trend, it took nearly two years for the peak demand to grow by 200 MW. However, since June last year, peak demand has grown by over 116 MW. This means that in the last 8 months alone, peak demand has grown by an average of 14.5 MW per month,'' stated the report.
''Last year, we had 7 new peaks, as of December, the Peak was 2,288 MW by January the peak was 2,304 MW," Kenya Power's Managing Director & CEO, Joseph Siror said.
Other projects that have been credited to the impressive growth rate include the 33kV double circuit interconnector between the counties of Narok and Bomet and network reinforcement projects have also enhanced power supply redundancy to ensure sustained sales.
Aside from the efforts spent on energy investments, more connectivity of electricity to new customers on the national grid also drove the increase in demand.
''In the last six months, we also connected over 198,535 new customers to the national grid. With improved grid stability and deployment of various connectivity projects, we expect a steady growth in electricity demand in the short and medium term," said Siror.
The company is currently implementing the donor-funded Last Mile Phases IV and V. Both projects are expected to connect a total of 289,121 new customers to the national grid.
