Power reaches 1.6m as state lights up forgotten villages
The Kenyan government has successfully expanded electricity access to remote villages, including Tana River and Siaya counties. Residents report that the new utility is cheaper and more reliable than the solar lamps they previously relied on.
Why it matters
Rural electrification is a critical driver of economic development and social inclusion in developing nations, enabling small businesses and improving household living standards.
Lodwar 66/11kv substation. 85% complete/HANDOUT For 35-year-old Hamisi Kokane, electricity is more than a new utility in his Garsen village, Tana River county. It is proof that his remote community has finally been included in the country’s development story.
“Since independence, we have not had electricity supply,” Kokane said. “We are now using it to do a number of things besides lighting our homes.”
For years, Kokane and his neighbours relied on solar lamps, paying daily subscriptions to keep their homes lit.
The cost was higher, and the service disappeared whenever they could not pay.
Now, electricity has reached the village after engineers overcame the challenge of transporting poles across the Tana River, an area where commercial investment would have made little sense.
“Out of this, we now feel that we belong to Kenya,” Kokane said.
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