Private firms will be allowed to distribute electricity through Kenya Power and Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) networks at a fee in a regulatory shift that is aimed at ending the giant utilities’ decades-long monopoly. Ketraco owns about 4,660 kilometers of transmission lines across the country while Kenya Power has a total of 310,618 kilometres of both transmission and distribution lines. The regulations come nearly five years since the Energy Act, 2019 was enacted thereby opening up the country’s power distribution sub-sector to competition for the first time. This means that for the first time, consumers will have the choice of being supplied by Kenya Power or any other retailer of choice. Further, firms can now also compete with Ketraco for power transmission.
