Power demand reaches record high in October
Electricity demand for October was 1.2 per cent higher than the previous consumption record of 923.13 million units set in August 2024.
Kenya Power sold a record 934.54 million units of electricity in October, official data shows, highlighting growing demand by industrialists and households.
Electricity demand for October was 1.2 per cent higher than the previous consumption record of 923.13 million units set in August 2024, according to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
To paint a better picture of how demand has changed over the past year, power use in October is also higher by 6.5 per cent compared to the 877.48 million units that Kenyans purchased in the same period last year.
The increase in electricity sales has largely been driven by commercial and industrial customers, who remain the utility’s largest source of revenue.
In the year to June 2024 for instance, the utility sold 5,415 gigawatt-hours (GWh) to this customer segment, marking an increase of 5.4 per cent from 5,137GWh in the previous year.
The increase in the quantity of power sales to industrial and commercial customers saw its revenue from the customer category surge to Sh117.6 billion from Sh97.5 billion.
Increased connections
This has also been driven by increased connections of thousands of new customers to the national grid by both Kenya Power and the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (Rerec).
In the year to June 2024, Kenya Power added 294,806 new clients to the electricity grid.
“Our sales growth is driven by increased demand from new and existing customers, increased system efficiency, and improved quality and reliability of power supply,” says the utility in its latest annual report.
Kenya generates electricity from five sources namely hydro, geothermal, thermal, solar, wind, and co-generation. The country also imports power from Uganda and Ethiopia to supplement local output.
Kenya has also connected its grid with Tanzania’s to facilitate power trade to address supply shortages.
However, demand continues to rise quickly, exerting pressure on the national electricity grid and occasionally leading to power rationing. The utility has tipped demand for electricity to continue to grow, driven by new sources of demand, especially electric mobility.
“Notably, sales from electric vehicle (EV) charging contributed 1.2GWh, marking it as a promising driver of electricity demand growth,” it said.
The utility is also betting on subsidised rates such as the Time of Use (ToU) tariff that gives manufacturers lower prices to use power at off-peak hours as well as e-cooking.
