Kenya’s electricity consumption has surged to an all-time high, with peak demand reaching 2,316 megawatts (MW) on February 12, 2025, marking a 12 MW increase from the previous record set in January. The rise is attributed to expanding grid infrastructure, increased customer connections, and growing e-mobility adoption.
According to Kenya Power’s Managing Director & CEO, Dr. (Eng.) Joseph Siror, the past eight months have witnessed an unprecedented acceleration in demand growth.
“Looking at the trend, it took nearly two years for the peak demand to grow by 200 MW. However, since June last year, peak demand has grown by over 116 MW. This means that in the last eight months alone, peak demand has grown by an average of 14.5 MW per month,” Siror noted.
The surge in demand has been fueled by strategic grid reinforcement projects, including the completion of the Kimuka 220/66kV substation and the Narok-Bomet interconnector, which have enhanced power reliability. Additionally, the Last Mile Connectivity Program, aimed at linking underserved regions, has connected 198,535 new customers in the past six months.
Kenya Power is also investing in the e-mobility sector, a key driver of increased electricity consumption.
“In less than a year, we were billing less than 100,000 units of electricity on e-mobility accounts. Today, we are billing an average of 350,000 units from these accounts, representing more than triple the growth in electricity demand from this customer segment,” Siror stated.
To sustain the rising demand, Kenya Power has committed KES 258 million over three years to support e-mobility uptake, including setting up charging infrastructure nationwide. Additionally, the company is focusing on expanding electricity generation reserves to stabilize supply.