KIGANJO RESIDENTS ASKED TO REGISTER FOR CHEAP ELECTRICITY.

The Last Mile project, a mega consumer power connectivity drive launched by President Uhuru  Kenyatta in May has now landed in Thika.

Residents of Kiganjo Estate have been requested to consult with their area elders and register with their respective wazee wa kijiji who will then guide the Kenya Power & Lighting Employees to their homes for electricity connection. All they are expected to do is to instal electrical wiring in their homes first before getting connected to the national grid.

Any homestead near a KPLC transformer is now asked to liase with their Mzee Wa Mtaa who will facilitate the connection. One does not have to have money at hand. The connection fee will be deducted in instalments through the electricity bills sent by KPLC.

The programme targets households located within 600 metres of a transformer. The power consumers have the option of paying the Sh15,000 in cash or in instalments through their monthly bills, removing a major hurdle for electrification in Kenya. Kenya Power is using a new transmission line design known as the Single Wire Earthing Return (SWER) to rollout the Last Mile Connectivity Project (LMCP), giving unconnected consumers cheaper access to power.

Lowering the cost of connectivity will also come as a relief to thousands of rural consumers who have been aspiring to connect their homes to the national grid but could not pay the more than Sh70,000 that Kenya Power demanded for homes located outside the 600 metres radius of a transformer. The government is shouldering all the costs of bringing transformers closer to homes.