Kenya Power’s customer base has surpassed 10 million, a milestone expected to boost electricity sales amid rising demand, which reached a record peak of 2,362.28 megawatts (MW) on Wednesday.
The State-owned electricity distributor reported it had added 401,848 new customers in the year ending June 2025, bringing the total to 10.06 million. This growth, alongside surging demand, is set to intensify pressure on the company to maintain a stable and reliable power supply.
Increased customers and rising electricity demand will drive sales of Kenya Power and boost its bottom line, but at the same time, heighten focus on the utility given that it is increasingly relying on imports to avoid forced blackouts.
“We expect the momentum to continue as we roll out more connectivity projects across the country,” Kenya Power CEO Joseph Siror said on Wednesday.
The rise in customers and increasing demand is set to reflect when the firm discloses its financial performance for the year ended June 2025.
Kenya Power made a net profit of Sh30.08 billion in the year to June 2024 when it benefitted from the strengthening of the shilling. The stronger local currency had the impact of lightening its debt load since the company has billions of shillings in foreign debt.
Kenya is faced with thinning reserve margins with the situation becoming dire in the wake of the spike in demand. Reserve margin —extra generation capacity available above demand— has shrunk to below four percent against the range of 15 percent to 35 percent recommended internationally.
Mr Siror added that electricity demand has jumped by 46MW since February this year, in what increases the pressure on Kenya Power to ensure reliable supplies despite a freeze on new power purchase agreements.
Kenya Power is currently barred from signing new electricity purchase deals, a freeze that has forced the firm to rely on Ethiopia, Uganda and now Tanzania to avoid rationing.
The electricity distributor is currently in talks with Ethiopia Electric Power (EEP) to import an additional 50MW to 100MW that will be used when demand peaks in the evening to avert forced outages.
The talks between Kenya Power and EEP started in April this year and are yet to be concluded even as Mr Siror remained optimistic of getting the additional hydropower from Ethiopia.
The additional electricity will be on top of the up to 200MW that the country has been importing from the horn of Africa economy in November 2022 under a deal that runs to 2047.
Besides Ethiopia, Kenya Power is also a net importer in its electricity exchange deal with Uganda and Tanzania.
For example, Kenya Power imported 73.62 gigawatt-hours (GWh) from Uganda between December last year and March this year, nearly five times the 14.85GWh it exported to Kampala in the period.
Kenya Power also shipped in 18.86 GWh from Tanzania compared to the 15.33GWh that it exported to the neighboring country in the same period.
