It is only “a matter of time” now before cheaper electricity connections start in select areas in the country, Kenya Power has said.
The company which deferred implementation of the Last Mile Connectivity project from September last year to this month said on Friday the contractors picked in December for the project were already on the ground doing infrastructure designs.
“Everything else is done, we have all the money from African Development Bank,” said the firm.
“Exactly when the project starts depends on completion of the designs of the infrastructure.”
On December 10, the company signed 11 contracts valued at Sh15.04 billion for the first phase of subsidised connection targeting 314,200 homes over 18 months from January.
Under the project, KPLC is to connect households within 600 metres of targeted 5,320 transformers countrywide at a cost of Sh15,000 from a previous power connection cost of Sh35,000.
The first phase of the project, funded by the African Development Bank, is behind schedule by three months from the initial target of last September due to the bank’s “stringent procurement process”, KPLC said in December.
“Procurement process for the materials to be used by contractors is ongoing and once that is done the connections will start,” the electricity distributor said.
Families living within the targeted areas will need to do wiring.
For those not able to pay the Sh15,000 connection fee, the charges will be deducted through monthly bills over a maximum of 36 months.
