Kenya, France sign Sh3.6 billion deal for Northern Kenya power grid

Kenya and France today signed a deal of Ksh3.63 billion for power grids in Northern Kenya counties, boosting the Government’s efforts to provide affordable power to all Kenyans.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault witnessed the signing of the Credit Facility Agreement at State House, Nairobi.

The deal will provide funds for a mini-grid retrofitting project that will be implemented by Kenya Power and Lighting Company and will see installation of 9.5 MW additional power voltage in the counties. The counties will also get an additional 0.6 MW generated by wind power.

The projects will involve the setting up of mini-grids in 23 sites including Banisa, Baragoi, Daadab, Eldas, Elwak, Faza, Habaswein, Hola, and Hulugho.

Other sites that will benefit from the funding are Kiunga, Mandera, Maikona, Merti, Mfangano, North Horr, Laisamis, Lokichogio, Lokiriama, Lokitang, Lokori, Rhamu and Takaba.

Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter signed the agreement on Kenya’s side. The signing ceremony was attended by Cabinet Secretaries Amina Mohamed (Foreign Affairs) and Henry Rotich (National Treasury).

The funding is a major boost to the Government’s efforts to ensure accessible, affordable, and reliable power to Kenyans.

Since 2013, the Government has doubled the number of citizens connected to the grid from around 13 million to some 25 million. In the last two years, over 14,000 schools have been connected to electricity, which means 23,000 are now connected to power.

Over 40 new substations have also been commissioned since the Jubilee Government came to office, raising power generation from 1,765 MW to more than 2,422 MW.