Nairobi — Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) plans to connect 400,000 new users to the national grid as it seeks to meet universal electricity access.

For the half-year period ending December last year, the utility firm surpassed its connectivity target by 13.87 percent to 256,206.

KPLC MD Joseph Siror said that new customers pushed up its total customer base to 9.45 million, buoyed by the availability of meters and the deployment of the Rapid Results Initiative (RRI) in October 2023, to fast-track meter installation nationwide.

"The Company targets to connect 400,000 new customers to the national grid by the end of the current financial year to attain universal access to electricity," said Siror.

The company noted that it will sustain the connectivity drive, with an additional 4 million customers targeted to be connected by the year 2030.

"We have exceeded our target for the half-year period and we are on course towards the attainment of our annual target, which will positively impact the journey towards universal access to electricity by the year 2030," the MD stated.

Kenya Power is also banking on the implementation of other projects, including the Last Mile Connectivity Project (LMCP), to achieve its annual connectivity targets.

A total of 1.43 million clients have so far been connected to the grid through the Last Mile Connectivity Project, funded by the government and development partners, including the World Bank, African Development Bank, European Union, European Investment Bank (EIB), and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

During the rollout of Phase 4 of the Last Mile Connectivity Project, KPLC targets to connect 280,000 customers across 32 counties within a period of 18 months.