Lack of electricity supply for decades lures Kenyan small business owners to embrace solar systems

For more than two decades, Morop village has never had any power supply, despite having overhead power lines running on roads

By Wesley Langat

March 26, 2024. 14:09

It is a hot and windy afternoon in Mogotio, Kenya’s Rift Valley, near the equator. Walking down a marram road in Morop village, the wind howls, lifting dust from the bare and dry ground and creating a white smoke cloud in the sky.

The road leads The Colonist Report Africa to the home of Justine Kiogor, a 40-year-old father of six who also works as a casual labourer on a neighbouring farm. One could assume that power was available in the area because electricity poles ran alongside the road.

Justine has just returned from the river where he had gone to water his cows. Despite the proximity of the electricity transmission lines, for more than two decades, his house has remained unconnected to the power supply.

The Colonist Report Africa watched as Justine sent his child to retrieve his phone from the neighbour’s house, where it had been placed for solar charging.

“I am unable to connect my house to electricity due to the high connection fee, and I do not have solar power as an alternative,” he told The Colonist Report Africa. As a result, he resorted to taking her phone to the neighbour’s house to charge.

He uses his mobile phone to connect with clients and plan work-related activities. In some cases, he uses his phone to carry out some transactions, including sending money to his wife back home through MPESA, a mobile-based money transfer.

However, if Justine’s neighbour is unavailable, he will have to travel to the shopping centre, which is only about 2 kilometres from their house, to charge their phones.

Justine’s story is similar to that of the 840 million people who lack access to electricity globally simply because they do not have the financial means to install a solar home system in addition to electricity. About 570 million of these astonishing numbers, according to the UN, are found in sub-Saharan Africa.

More demand for power supply

The same neighbourhood as Justine is home to Eunice Ruto, a mother of five who farms beans, sorghum, and maize. In 2019, she obtained a solar system through credit for her home, for which she pays a daily fee of Ksh. 20. She took the difficult decision because she was having trouble charging her phone and was losing out on business opportunities for her farming company.

“Before I bought this solar, my phone used to go off and I couldn’t be reached by my clients who wanted to buy farm produce.” She told The Colonist Report Africa.

Ruto’s phone’s constant low battery became a problem, resulting in additional losses from missed opportunities. With solar, she can maintain a constant connection with her customers and receive orders for her merchandise on time.

While a small percentage of households are connected to the power grid, most are unable to pay the costs of maintaining an electricity connection. As a result, buying portable solar lamps is a common choice among rural inhabitants.

Ruto no longer worries about connecting her home to the power grid because her solar home system not only lights her home but also powers electronics like phones and televisions.

“Politicians have made numerous promises to connect our homes with electricity at an affordable cost, yet these commitments have not been fulfilled. For me, I’m not bothered anymore,” said Ruto.

For rural communities in Kenyan’s off-grid areas, solar power has shown to be a very reliable and promising source of energy. For example, solar power allows Eunice to use most of her evening hours to do household chores and help her kids with schoolwork.

Kenya’s SDG 7 goal is to accelerate the country’s transformation into a rapidly industrialising middle-income nation by 2030. The 2023 Tracking SDG7 Report projected that approximately 660 million people, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa, would still lack access to energy by 2030.

Josephine Tonon, a small-scale businesswoman living in Morop village, has already connected her house and shop to electricity, but the high cost of electricity makes her opt for a solar lamp. She also relies on a portable lamp for lighting during power outages.

Tonon told The Colonist Report Africa that since adopting solar energy, which costs Ksh 20 per day, she has saved up to “Ksh.200 per week.”

Government initiative

The Last Mile Connectivity Programme, a government-led initiative launched in 2015, seeks to provide access to affordable electricity in rural and peri-urban areas. According to Kenya Power, the initial three phases have resulted in more than 75 percent of the population having access to electricity, up from 29 percent in 2012.

To advance last-mile access to clean energy while improving smooth transitions, more African countries adopted solar energy, with 61.5% registered in commercial and industrial segments in 2023, according to the Africa Solar Outlook Report.

Kenya is one of the African countries that have already adopted renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and geothermal.

Stephen Nzioka, deputy director of renewable energy at Kenya’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum confirmed Kenya’s potential to generate renewable energy.

Nzioka revealed to The Colonist Report African that his ministry has mapped out 20 new sites that are earmarked for establishing renewable energy stations.

“The potential is very great, 93% of what we consume as power in our country is from renewable energy sources.” He told The Colonist Report Africa.

Nzioka stated that greenhouse gas emissions are declining as the government gradually decommissions fossil fuel generators and replaces diesel-powered stations with renewable energy sources.

Nzioka claims that 78% of Kenya’s land area is not near a major power grid. “If we have those mini-grids serving those areas that are underserved, then we will be able to come up with industries/industrialization in marginalised areas. So we are using renewable energy, especially solar, to reach universal access to electricity by 2030 that is our plan as a ministry.

“Once we develop a mini-grid then we have businesses coming around, welding, shops, and others around that place,” he told The Colonist Report Africa.

According to Nzioka, the Kenyan government has prioritised the promotion and use of renewable energy, primarily to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030. People have also adapted to the abundance of solar home systems that are being sold.

The second phase of the Last Mile Connectivity Project, which was carried out in Kenya from 2016 to 2022, successfully gave 1.6 million people in rural areas access to electricity, according to the Project Completion Report released by the African Development Bank on August 11, 2023.

The African Development Bank’s Impact Evaluation also shows an 83% increase in access to electricity. The World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the Kenyan government all provided financial support for the Last Mile Connectivity Project.

Is the use of solar increasing in Kenya?

Andrew Amadi, CEO of the Kenya Renewable Energy Association (KEREA), credited the rise in solar energy adoption in Africa to its affordability. “Today the biggest advantage that is driving renewable energy is the cost. Once you pay the upfront cost, you can continue using it as you pay the rest over a period of time.”

Amadi emphasises the utmost significance of developing renewable energy technologies to benefit the most vulnerable, thereby combating poverty through the productive use of energy in areas without electricity.

Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas continue to be the primary energy sources for the world’s economies, accounting for more than 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90% of total carbon dioxide emissions, both of which contribute to climate change. Given this, it is projected by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) that by 2050, renewable energy sources could provide 90% of global electricity, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Edited by Woke Kevin and Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi

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