Kenya's last-mile grid plan mined 35,000 existing transformers

In 2014 only about half of Kenyan households had electricity even though the country already had an extensive grid. Connections were expensive, and the standard remedy — more generation and long transmission lines — meant years of capital chasing relatively small household loads.

Kenya Power and the African Development Bank flipped the problem: instead of building supply, they mined the grid. With 35,000 transformers already in place, the project extended low-voltage lines to homes within 600 metres of them, pre-financed connections and meters, and cut the connection fee to about KSh 32,480.

Phase 1 (about $131 million, approved 2014) aimed to reach 1.2 million people; IDEV's impact evaluation found it effective in raising access to electricity. Phase 2 (2016–2022, a $134.64 million loan) added about 18,000 km of low-voltage line, connected 322,279 households and small businesses, and lifted national access from 53% to more than 70%.

The Bank's completion report praised the flexible design — resources moved between transformers as demand surfaced — and rated the project highly satisfactory. Later phases extended the model to more counties.