Kenya plans to
connect an extra one million consumers to its national electricity grid
in the next two years, the president said on Wednesday, as the country
strives to boost rural electrification.
East Africa’s
largest economy is beset by regular power outages due to insufficient
electricity generation and a dilapidated transmission network. Business
leaders say the blackouts are curbing economic growth.
Kenya Power and
Lighting Company, the country’s sole power distributor, said it has 1.6
million customers that serve about eight million people, accounting for
22 per cent of the population.
“By 2013, one
million new consumers will be connected to the national electricity
grid,” said President Mwai Kibaki, during the launch of KPLC’s rights
shares on the Nairobi Stock Exchange.
KPLC raised 9.8
billion Kenya shillings, 3.2 per cent above target, to help fund
upgrades to its network by issuing 488.6 new ordinary shares in a
rights issue in December.
“The excess 300
million (shillings) has already been refunded to the applicants who
could not get their full allocation,” said Eliazar Ochola, KPLC’s
chairman.
