April 17, 2013
Kenya Power Ltd. plans to spend 100 billion shillings (USD 1.2 billion) over five years to expand its electricity-distribution network in East Africa’s biggest economy.
The electricity provider is negotiating loans worth USD 200 million from the World Bank, European Investment Bank, French Development Agency and African Development Bank to spend in the fiscal year.
The money will be invested in underground distribution lines, insulating overheads, putting up extra sub stations, automating the system and availing contingency.
Four out of every five Kenyan households light their homes with kerosene lamps because they aren’t linked to the national grid, which doesn’t reach many rural communities.
The company supplies power to about 2.2 million customers and adds about 200,000 users annually, while the country’s population is 42 million. It is seeking to reach about half of the population by 2020 and make the electricity supply more reliable.