Last mile
The Last Mile Connectivity Project (LMCP) has received a boost of Sh1.85 billion grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
A total of 9,121 households are targeted to be connected to the grid under Phase Five of the project. The households are located within the four counties of Nakuru, Kilifi, Kwale and Nyandarua, where JICA is financing other key energy projects.
“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. We thank JICA for the grant which will go a long way to enable these households to access electricity and transform their livelihoods,” said Eng. Rosemary Oduor, Kenya Power’s General Manager for Commercial Services and Sales.
Eng. Oduor, in a statement to newsrooms indicated that the JICA grant comes two months after Kenya Power signed 26 contracts for the implementation of Phase Four of the Last Mile Connectivity Project. She explained that the Sh.27 billion project is funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), the European Union (EU) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). It will connect a total of 280,000 new customers to the grid by November 2025.
“Funded to the tune of Sh.73.1 billion to date, the Last Mile Connectivity Project is anchored on the Kenya National Electrification Strategy that was developed in 2015 to speed-up electricity access for households and businesses in Kenya. Kenya Power, is the implementing agency of the project on behalf of the Government,” said Eng. Oduor.
She added that since its inception in 2015, the Last Mile Connectivity Project has significantly contributed to the growth of the electricity access rate in the County which currently stands at 76 percent with 9.6 million households connected to the grid. Eng. Oduor said that a total of 746,867 households have been connected to the grid under the first three phases of the Last Mile Project at a cost of Sh51.1 billion.
“This success is primarily hinged on maximizing the efficiency of existing distribution transformers by connecting every household within 600 meters of the transformer, as well as the installation of new transformers to serve households outside this radius,” she explained.
Eng. Oduor said that in the period between 1922 to date, Kenya Power has extended its transmission and distribution network across the country, covering over 306,000 kilometres. As at May 2024, the Company had over 9.62 million accounts and had enabled over 76 percent of the country’s population to access the national grid.
The Company’s vision is to be Kenya’s energy solutions provider of choice by sustainably supplying quality and reliable service to power people for better lives, to support the country’s socio-economic development, using innovation and leveraging on technology.