Kenya’s electricity grid is set to be further expanded after the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) granted the government KShs .1.85 billion. This grant is meant for the Last Mile Connectivity Project (LMCP) and will cater for grid expansion in Nakuru, Kilifi, Kwale and Nyandarua.
LMCP was conceptualized in 2015 to take electricity to low-income groups, people living in informal settlements and isolated communities without electricity access. The JICA grant comes in at Phase V of the project. During this phase, a total of 9,121 households within the four counties are targeted to be connected.
“We expect to connect all the targeted households across the four counties by January 2025. The Company is committed to fast-tracking electricity connection across the country to achieve universal access to electricity,” said Eng. Rosemary Oduor, Kenya Power’s General Manager for Commercial Services and Sales.
The JICA grant follows Kenya Power’s signing of twenty-six contracts two months ago for Phase IV of the Last Mile Connectivity Project. The KShs.27 billion projects, funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), the European Union (EU), and the European Investment Bank (EIB), aims to connect 280,000 new customers to the grid by November 2025. LMCP is anchored on the Kenya National Electrification Strategy of 2015. A total of 746,867 households have been connected to the grid under the first three phases of the project at a cost of KShs.51.1 billion.
READ: AfDB Loans Kenya KSH 9.6 Billion to Upgrade Electricity Grid System
Since the project started, electricity access rate in the county has grown to 76%. Kenya Power serves as the implementing agency. The project has so far brought a total of 9.6 million households onto the Kenyan main grid. The Last mile project has received KShs.73.1 billion in funding to date.
