Electricity accessibility is incomplete without affordability

Kenya Power's last-mile electrification programme has achieved one of the world's fastest connectivity rates in the last five years. 

Indeed, Kenya’s power connectivity rate is one that is well documented and acknowledged.

For instance,  the Energy Progress Report for 2021 by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO) have all appreciated Kenya’s achievement on this front. 

As much as accessibility is important and is being lauded even by international agencies, affordability endeavours must run in tandem with the fast pace of connectivity, especially in many parts of rural Kenya where the majority of the poor live.

Only through affordable electricity can the real gains of rural electrification be realized.

Notwithstanding the fact that the rapid pace of electrification programme has today seen more than 70% of Kenyan households having access to electricity, its usage in rural Kenya is still limited to rudimentary but key functions of lighting and charging phones.

The cost of power in Kenya remains high ad continues to dismay consumers and confound logic, considering that the country’s electricity generation  mix  accounting for 90% of our electricity is generated from renewable energy sources with geothermal  leading the way at  47% of electricity to  the national grid.

Hydro energy comes in second with a load of 32%, while wind energy is third with a load of 11%.

Given that only 10% of Kenya's power is generated using nonrenewable energy , singly driven by thermal power like diesel, it defeats logic as why the cost of power in Kenya remains high  in a country that is clearly leading the charge for renewable energy in Africa and around the world. 

It is for this reason that we all laud the recent initiate by the government to institute operational reforms at Kenya Power.

These reforms are geared towards ensuring that the reduction in operational cost of the power distributor translates directly to the reduction of electricity tariff in Kenya by 33%. 

The 33% reduction is a recommendation by the task force appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta to review the Power Purchase Agreements between Kenya Power and Independent Power Producers to curb the ever-raising electricity cost.

The idea was to have the reduction effected by Christmas this year. This would be the best Christmas gift to Kenyans with direct impact on their pockets if it were to be achieved.

That aside, a significant reduction of power tariff in Kenya will have wider ramifications in the country’s economic sphere, especially within the manufacturing sector where electricity accounts for a significant proportion of the cost of production.

A lower power tariff will not only see a spike in domestic power consumption in rural areas but will further spur the growth of cottage industries and small enterprises that are dependent on electricity. 

Emerging Trends

With improved rural economies, citizens with more disposable income will be able to afford additional home appliances whose net effect would be to increase electricity consumption.

A key driver in electricity consumption in rural Kenya is likely to be the demand for hot water showers powered by instant heaters.

Although hot showers are much desired in the rural areas, not many people can afford to install and operate them. They largely remain a preserve of the urban dwellers.

Nonetheless, availability of piped water to every rural home stand on the way of every ordinary citizen in any party of the country to enjoy a hot shower. 

A final gaze at the horizon further reveals that after the hot shower, the TV set as a big screen will be the second or third most desired home appliance in newly connected Kenyan rural households.

The digitally connected age we live in is a dead giveaway for this prediction. The fact that your phone is already a small TV screen, the desire and aspiration to migrate to a bigger screen with better user experience is real, provided one can afford it.

In a nutshell, all these additional appliances can only drive up electricity consumption.

Kamau is the CEO at Telo, a technology company that simplifies power utility payments and tracks individual power consumption trends. [email protected]