MORE KENYANS SET TO BENEFIT FROM CHEAPER ELECTRICITY
The dream of many Kenyans for cheaper electricity connections is set to
become a reality with Thursday’s signing of contracts for construction
of new power lines and installation of transformers that will cut the
cost of connecting homes by more than half to Sh15,000.
The plan dubbed Last Mile Connectivity Project (LMCP) was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta in May but has faced implementation delays.
The SWER technology has enabled the power utility firm to cut the cost of connectivity to Sh15,000 from the Sh35,000 that applicants whose homes are located within 600 metres of a transformer have been paying.
“The works will start immediately after the contractors sign the contracts with Kenya Power tomorrow (Thursday),” said Energy principal secretary Joseph Njoroge in a phone interview.
The first phase of the project is valued at Sh15.3 billion ($150 million) and will see 314,200 households hooked to the national power grid. The cost of the project stands at Sh34 billion, according to figures obtained from the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
The government hopes to use the scheme to double connected homes to 70 per cent by 2017.
Under the LMCP initiative, the requirement that distinguished between customers living within and beyond the 600 metre radius of transformer is effectively removed because the State will shoulder the costs of bringing transformers closer to homes.
SOURCE: BUSINESS DAILY
The plan dubbed Last Mile Connectivity Project (LMCP) was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta in May but has faced implementation delays.
Kenya Power
will install additional transformers and power lines closer to
unconnected homes through a cheaper technology known as single wire
earthing return (SWER), giving consumers cheaper access to electricity.
The SWER technology has enabled the power utility firm to cut the cost of connectivity to Sh15,000 from the Sh35,000 that applicants whose homes are located within 600 metres of a transformer have been paying.
SWER uses single, thinner and lighter cables as
opposed to the current system that uses two or four cables to connect
domestic consumers.
“The works will start immediately after the contractors sign the contracts with Kenya Power tomorrow (Thursday),” said Energy principal secretary Joseph Njoroge in a phone interview.
Power consumers have the option of paying the
Sh15,000 upfront or in instalments through their monthly bills, removing
a major hurdle to acceleration of rural electrification.
Kenya Power said households where wiring has not
been done will be issued with a “ready board” that comes with sockets
and bulb holders.
Unlike the past when home owners had to make
applications for connection, Kenya Power will now approach potential
customers and offer to hook them to the grid.
In the arrangement, when a resident in an area
makes a request to be connected, that application will serve as a basis
to install electricity in all neighbouring homes.
The first phase of the project is valued at Sh15.3 billion ($150 million) and will see 314,200 households hooked to the national power grid. The cost of the project stands at Sh34 billion, according to figures obtained from the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
The government hopes to use the scheme to double connected homes to 70 per cent by 2017.
The low-cost connectivity brings relief to
thousands of rural consumers who could not afford the Sh70,000 and above
that Kenya Power demanded for homes located outside the 600 metres
radius of a transformer.
Under the LMCP initiative, the requirement that distinguished between customers living within and beyond the 600 metre radius of transformer is effectively removed because the State will shoulder the costs of bringing transformers closer to homes.
SOURCE: BUSINESS DAILY
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