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Publish Date : 08-Feb-2017

Rural Electrification Authority (REA) has decided to make Sh208 billion in investment over the next half-decade phase in order to ensure better electricity connectivity in the country.

REA, in a bid to achieve this target, has introduced the 2016/17 to 2020/2021 strategic plan.

The Chairman of the Authority Simon Gicharu has disclosed that they will spend the money in the next five years to provide power connectivity to all public facilities in the country, like churches, healthcare as well as trading centres, mosques and public primary schools.

The newly launched program is also envisioned to cover other public facilities such as tea procurement centres, coffee, factories and as well as processing plants, police posts, water project and boreholes, secondary schools, plus higher educational institutions, and vocational training centres, added the REA Chairman.

Gicharu further said, The plan focuses more emphasis on the use of renewable energy for provision of electricity to areas that are far away from the national grid. This is expected to enhance industrialisation and emergence of cottage industries.

REA, according to the official, has facilitated the national grid connectivity to several public facilities, mostly public primary schools, since the year 2006, and this move has more than doubled the electricity uptake to 70% in 2016 from 30% in 2006. The number of trading centres with electricity in off grid areas rose to 108 last year from the 2006 figures.

Gicharu has also revealed that the REA is under the New Energy Bill and added that the Kenyan Government has entrusted the job of developing renewable energy capacity in the country on the REA.

The Chairman of the Authority has also stated that REA will be renamed to Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation for the implementation of the rural electrification scheme and also for the development and promotion of green energy.

The CEO of REA Nganga Munyu has stated that there will be establishment of 55MW of solar energy plant in Garissa County by next February, among other key renewable power sector projects.

He has also revealed that the 55MW project is being set up with financial support from China.

The Exim Bank of China has delivered a soft loan of Sh13.8 billion to the Kenyan Government to support this renewable power project.

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