• The county has 19,621 grid-connected streetlights, which results in an annual power bill of Sh210 million.
• In the 2023-24 financial year, the county has incurred Sh50 million to repair and maintain lights.
Image: JOHN KAMAU
The Kiambu government will instal solar streetlights to cut electricity bills that cost up to Sh1.6 billion annually.
Governor Kimani Wamatangi said Kiambu will become the first county to fully embrace renewable energy in line with Sustainable Development Goal 7 on affordable and clean energy by 2030.
He said his administration has been paying Sh180 million per month on electricity bills and has issued a directive prohibiting new installations of electricity-powered streetlights and ordered replacement of existing ones. Only solar streetlights will be installed in the county moving forward.
Wamatangi has directed that solar power be installed gradually in hospitals, administrative buildings and water projects.
“Besides occasional disruptions caused by power outages and disconnections, resulting from unpaid bills and low voltages, we have been spending more than Sh1 billion on electricity annually," he said at a meeting in Gatong'ora ward, Ruiru.
"We are now shifting to solar-powered streetlights to cut the cost and as a way of embracing green energy.”
Kiambu has procured more than 6,000 solar lights after three months of successful testing. They will be installed in various parts of the county, including informal settlements, starting this month.
The streetlights programme is being supported by the Kenya Urban Support Programme and the Kenya Informal Sectors Programme.
The county has 19,621 grid-connected streetlights, which results in an annual power bill of Sh210 million.
In the 2023-24 financial year, the county has incurred Sh50 million to repair and maintain lights.
Solar panels have a life span of 20 years. They are less prone to vandalism and insect swarming, reliable, efficient and have minimal maintenance cost.
The Department of Health Services spends about Sh100 million a month on electricity bills for all the 119 county's hospitals.
This indicates hospitals spend roughly Sh1.2 billion a year on electricity bills.
All level 4 and 5 hospitals pay between Sh4 million and Sh8 million in electricity bills each month. Levels 2 and 3 use Sh5 million to Sh8 million worth of electricity monthly.
Wamatangi said Thika Level 5 Hospital spent Sh8 million in April, Kiambu Level 5 Hospital spent Sh6 million and the county government will pay Sh4.5 million for electricity at Gatundu Level 5 Hospital.
The county has started solarising some of the operations in hospitals.
At Gatundu Level 5 Hospital, the laundry section runs on a solar-powered heater, and Githurai-Lang'ata Health Centre has a solar-powered backup.