Kenya Power CEO, Dr Joseph Siror. Photo | Courtesy.
Kenya Power has announced plans to connect 150,000 new customers to the national electricity grid under the sixth phase of the Last Mile Connectivity Project (LMCP), backed by funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
According to a press statement from the company, the targeted customers households and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will be drawn from 45 counties, with the exception of Nairobi and Mombasa.
“The Government of Kenya has received financing from the African Development Bank toward the cost of implementing the sixth phase of the LMCP,” said Kenya Power Managing Director and CEO, Dr Joseph Siror.
“The funding will go a long way to boost the ongoing national electrification efforts and accelerate the attainment of universal access to electricity by the year 2030.” Siror added.
This marks the third time AfDB is financing the LMCP. The bank previously funded Phase I and III, which connected a total of 536,077 customers to the grid.
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The upcoming phase will not only target new connections but also focus on system reinforcements and grid expansion.
This includes the construction and refurbishment of 13 substations, three new 33/11kV substations, refurbishment and upgrade of three existing ones, and construction of seven new 33kV switching stations.
Additionally, the project will see the construction of 211 kilometres and 14 kilometres of 33kV and 11kV distribution lines respectively, as well as 650 kilometres of 33kV lines and 6,798 kilometres of low voltage networks to support last mile connections.
Since the LMCP began in 2015, Kenya Power has connected over 746,000 customers to the national grid.
The company is currently implementing the fourth and fifth phases of the project, targeting an additional 291,000 customers.
