President Uhuru Kenyatta switches on the power in a house belonging to a beneficiary of the Last Mile Connectivity project.
Kenya Power’s Last Mile Connectivity Project, which links homes to the national grid under a subsidised deal, is grappling with a budget hole risking its delay, the African Development Bank (AfDB), has warned.
The multilateral lender, which has bankrolled the plan in the past did not state actual funding deficit but warned there is urgent need for the government to plug the shortfall.
“As the sum of contract price has exceeded the total estimated project cost, the Government of Kenya contribution has to be increased or supplementary finance has to be requested to avoid delay on payment to contractors,” says AfDB in an audit update for the project.
“Therefore the government has to increase the counterpart fund or request for supplementary financing to complete the project.”
The project aims at extending the low voltage system throughout the county so that counties with low electricity penetration rate benefit the most. The latest phase of the project is expected to connect about 300,000 customers leading to access to electricity to about 1.5 million Kenyans under the deal.
Last mile connectivity
The Nation was unable to reach Kenya Power for comment.
The electricity distributor says in its latest annual report that 306,771 customers have been connected to the grid under the project.
“In working towards achieving universal access to electricity, the company continued to implement the last mile connectivity and transformer densification projects supported by the government and other development partners,” said Kenya Power.
“During the year, a total of 197,971 customers were connected under the last mile project and 466 new single-phase distribution transformers were installed along existing distribution lines under the transformer densification project. This contributed to increase in the number of customers connected by 306,771.”
The project had earlier seen power consumers get connected at a subsidised rate of Sh15,000 depending on their proximity to power lines and transformers, down from Sh35,000. Beneficiaries are strictly homes located within 600 metres of a transformer.
bnjoroge@ke.nationmedia.com
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