Kenya Power to phase out inefficient household light bulbs

Corporate News

A person changes a light bulb in Nyeri on August 10, 2009. Kenya Power is looking for a contractor to replace this inefficient bulbs with energy saving types. Photo/ JOSEPH KANYI  

By IMMACULATE KARAMBU, ikarambu@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• The AFD-funded programme is the second phase of the exercise which will involve procurement of three million bulbs for distribution to local households.
• In 2010, Kenya Power collected 1.25 million bulbs from its customers replacing them with energy efficient bulbs.

Kenya Power is seeking contractors to fit energy saving bulbs in Kenyan households as it moves to tame the peak demand for electricity.

“The Kenya Power and Lighting Company now invites proposals from eligible bidders for the retrofitting of incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent lamps in Kenyan households,” said the utility company in a notice published Friday.

Bidders have until January 5 to present their proposals. The undertaking is funded by the French Development Agency (AFD). It involves removal of energy-inefficient bulbs from targeted households and replacing them with energy-saving ones.

Replacing them

In 2010, Kenya Power collected 1.25 million bulbs from its customers replacing them with energy efficient bulbs.

The AFD-funded programme is the second phase of the exercise which will involve procurement of three million bulbs for distribution to local households.

READ: Kenyans fail to supply bulbs in Sh10 billion plan
The company secured Sh1 billion from AFD, part of which will be used to finance the project to change bulbs.

Local demand for electricity outstrips supply, partly accounting for the high energy costs in the country.

According to Kenya Power’s financial results for the year ended June 30, local access to electricity stands at 47 per cent meaning more than half of the country’s population has no access to power.

To bridge the electricity supply deficit, the government launched a project to increase the installed generating capacity by 5,000 megawatts in a period of 40 months to September next year.