Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter has said that the government is working towards boosting the availability of electricity.

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He said the country is moving away from thermal power production, a move that would make electricity even cheaper.

Speaking at the State House Energy Summit on Wednesday, Keter said the country's power generation had reached unprecedented levels, with global experts saying that Kenya, as a developing country, now had a surplus of power.

Nonetheless, the CS assured that the government would raise its power production to make prices more competitive.

Mr Keter said the government had invested in the construction of more electricity substations and transmission lines to boost the availability of electricity.

“The government has constructed and upgraded 81 power substations between 2013 and June 2016,” he said.

He said the increased generation and availability had enabled the government to widen access to power, expanding the consumer base from 2.2 million households in March 2013, to 4.9 million households by June 2016.

The Energy Cabinet Secretary said 22,245 primary schools have been connected to power with 18,074 on grid while 4,171 on solar.

Mr Keter exuded confidence that the country will achieve a 70 per cent access rate by June 2017, and universal access by 2020.

On his part, Kenya Power and Lighting Managing Director Ben Chumo, reiterated the government’s continuing commitment to lowering the cost of power.

He also disclosed that 35 towns and urban centres in 27 counties have been lit since 2013, under the street-lighting programme.

The programme, funded by the national government at a cost of Sh7.6 billion, will benefit 65 towns and urban centres across the country.

Other speakers included Energy Principal Secretary Joseph Njoroge and KETRACO Managing Director Fernandes Barasa.

By PSCU.