Kenya eyes nationwide connectivity as Last Mile Project reaches remote communities

A decade later, the initiative has significantly increased the national electrification rate. But as the project progresses, questions remain about its financial viability and impact on economic growth. 

The Last Mile Connectivity Project is a government initiative aimed at increasing access to electricity, particularly in rural areas and to low-income earners. Since its inception, the government says over 1.3 million households have been connected to the national grid.

“Kenya is among the leading countries in sub-Saharan Africa, actually, other than South Africa, which is more connected than us; there is no other sub-Saharan country that has the kind of connection we have,” said Energy PS Alex Wachira

Kenya Power and the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (Rerec) are tasked with the implementation of the project. 

And to reduce costs for these implementing agencies and customers as well, the funding of the project is borne by the government and multilateral financiers. 

“Most of our rural areas do not have electrification up to now, and you can never have enough money for electrification. So we mostly rely on the exchequer for funding but what we have done over time is that through the government we have also been able to approach donors and so far we have worked with several like the world bank and others to help us also augment exchequer funding,” says Dr Rose Mkalama, CEO, Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation.

According to KPLC MD Joseph Siror, the total expenditure is about 68 billion, where financiers have contributed 50 while GOK has contributed 18 billion.

Through the project, electricity connections, including meters, are installed at customer premises before requiring payment. 

Customers are then billed a meagre 15,000 shillings connection fee. This fee is not paid upfront. It is repaid by deducting 50 percent of every purchased token till the 15,000 shillings is fully recovered, which is perhaps why the financial viability of the initiative has been repeatedly questioned by experts. The government says this is about social good.

“A number of times when we extend this electricity infrastructure to very remote places, at the time of course it may appear that even the consumption does not warrant that connection to be there, but if you come there 3 or 4 years afterwards, you’d be amazed at the growth, at the rate of development, at the industrial. So that at times you can consider it almost like a seed investment, where you are not investing per se from what you can see, but you are investing for the future,” says Siror.

“So we don’t look at the return on investment, we look at the SDG number 7, and the target of Vision 2030, that we anticipate to have 100 per cent connectivity by the year 2030,” adds PS Wachira.

The last mile project is implemented in phases. So far, the government has completed the implementation of 3 phases, while 2 phases are currently ongoing. 

By mid next year, the government says another 460,000 households across the country will receive electricity connections.

“One of the key factors that is normally used, in determining the places where to prioritise is the access level, so places which have the lowest access to electricity are the ones which are normally prioritised so that at the end of the day, there is a level of equity, there is a level of almost even ness in as far as electricity connection is concerned,” Siror remarks. 

And in far-removed and remote parts of the country, the Last Mile Connectivity project is supplemented by the Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project. This project serves 14 underserved counties by using off-grid standalone mini-grids and solar systems.

“For communities far from the national grid solar power, solar power offers the most practical, cost-effective and immediate solution. That is why the government of Kenya, in partnership with the World Bank is implementing KOSAP,” says President William Ruto. 

Rose Mkalama, the CEO of Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation, points to opening up areas that are even within islands, in the sea or in the ocean. 

“We have opened, island in lake victoria using the mingrids, we have opened islands in Lake Victoria using the mini-grids. There’s one that we have done in Wasini, using the minogrids, these are people who never thought that they would ever get electricity,” she says.

The government is showing no signs of slowing down with the Last Mile Connectivity Project, with new funding being sought to support the next phases of the project.