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The government, he says, has brought on-line 634 Megawatts of new power, raising Kenya’s total installed capacity to 2,282 MW/FILE

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1.2mn extra Kenyans got power in past year – Uhuru

The government, he says, has brought on-line 634 Megawatts of new power, raising Kenya’s total installed capacity to 2,282 MW/FILE

The government, he says, has brought on-line 634 Megawatts of new power, raising Kenya’s total installed capacity to 2,282 MW/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 31 – At least 1.2 million Kenyans have been connected to the national electricity grid in the last one year, according to President Uhuru Kenyatta.

In his State of The Nation address on Thursday, President Kenyatta said this has been achieved through the addition of more power to the national grid and installation of more transmission lines.

“This has enabled us to connect many more Kenyans to the national grid. In the last 12 months, we have connected an additional 1.2 million Kenyans to electricity in their homes and places of work,” Kenyatta said.

The government, he says, has brought on-line 634 Megawatts of new power, raising Kenya’s total installed capacity to 2,282 MW.

Over 10,000 kilometers of high-capacity transmission and distribution lines have been built, connected more parts of the country to the national grid and some for the first time.

“We appreciate that taking the power we generate into every Kenyan home is just as important as generating it,” he added, “Garissa is a case in point; it will receive its first-ever electric power supply from the national grid next month. That shows our commitment to the Nationalist Covenant and the inclusion of all.”

The ongoing street lighting initiative will have completed the installation of 26,000 new streetlights across 5 counties by mid-2016. The programme has been extended to another 50 towns across the country.

The Head of State says the street lighting project is not only aimed at improving security but also encourage a 24-hour economy.

“Why are we doing this? It is to improve security and make the 24-hour economy a reality. From Kibokoni to Mtwapa; from Majengo to Kibera, street lighting means better returns for Kenyans, and better service for their customers.”

In 2013, the government announced plans, through the Last Mile Electricity Connectivity Project to making sure that at least eight out of 10 Kenyans across the country will be connected to electricity by 2017.

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The Sh13.4 billion project is being funded by the national government with the support from African Development Bank (AfDB).

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