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Kenya has experienced frequent power disruptions, particularly in the western counties, due to an ageing and overloaded transmission system. Voltage fluctuations and network congestion have been a recurring problem, often leaving residents and businesses without electricity during peak demand.
In a Cabinet dispatch released on Monday, December 1, the government said the policy responds to challenges that have for years slowed energy development. These include low access to electricity, heavy dependence on traditional biomass, unreliable power supply, limited private investment and rising climate-related risks that threaten energy infrastructure.
While agreements with international technology firms like Microsoft and UAE-based artificial intelligence company G42 were already signed, the nation currently lacks the capacity to operate these massive facilities.
The announcement came after a high-level summit in London hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who declared, “We’re choking off funding for Russia’s war machine.”
Kenya’s total installed capacity stood at 3,192 MW, ranking third in the region after the DRC (3,238.9 MW) and Tanzania (3,091.7 MW). Despite this, Kenya led in renewable energy, with geothermal power contributing 940 MW, the full geothermal output for the region.
Kenya Power has not entered into fresh agreements with power producers since 2018 when lawmakers imposed the moratorium to pave way for an audit of contracts where producers were accused of inflating charges, locking consumers out of affordable energy.
The audit follows concerns raised by the Auditor General on Kenya Power’s strained financial health and its inability to recover billions spent under government-backed projects.
Ethiopia views the project as essential to powering its economy and expanding electricity access across the country, where about 60% of the population still lives without reliable power.