Kenya Needs at Least $15 Billion for Universal Power Access
Kenya Needs at Least $15 Billion for Universal Power Access
East Africa’s largest economy needs between $15 billion and $18 billion to achieve all-round electricity access by 2022, according to Power For All, a global coalition of 200 private and public organizations campaigning for universal reach.
“With almost $15 billion in investment into a particular suite of projects -- geothermal, generation, off-grid, energy efficiency, transmission and distribution -- Kenya could achieve universal access by 2022 with the current growth of demand at about 5.3% per year to 2020 for East Africa,” Chief Research Officer Rebekah Shirley and Data Manager Monkgogi Otlhogile said in response to emailed questions.
Realization of this target is dependent on various factors including the financing available, population growth, technology, generation, demand, policy and regulation, the officials said. The coalition’s campaign is based on achieving its goal through decentralized, renewable electricity.
About 12.6% of existing connections are off-grid and 87.4% are on the national network, according to the coalition. Based on 2016 data, Kenya’s per capital power consumption is about 173 kilowatt-hours. This compares with 117 kilowatt-hours in Tanzania, 99 kilowatt-hours in Ethiopia, 85 kilowatt-hours in Uganda and 46 kilowatt-hours in Rwanda, according to Renaissance Capital Ltd.
For nations to be industrialized, adult literacy needs to be at least 70% and electricity consumption at a minimum of 300 kilowatt-hours per person to have a big manufacturing sector, which means contributing 20% of economic output, according to Renaissance Capital’s Global Chief Economist Charles Robertson.
To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Ombok in Nairobi at eombok@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Malingha at dmalingha@bloomberg.net, Helen Nyambura, Alastair Reed
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