From September 2025 through August 2026, Kenya’s electricity consumption totaled about 15.5 TWh, or 271 kWh per person. Domestic low-carbon generation supplied about 83% of that total, fossil generation about 7%, and net imports about 10%; the data do not specify the imports’ generation mix. Geothermal was the largest clean source, generating about 6.5 TWh, followed by hydropower at 3.6 TWh and wind at 2 TWh. Despite this strong low-carbon foundation, electricity consumption per person was only about 7% of the global average of 3,853 kWh—roughly one-fourteenth as much. Such limited electricity availability can constrain industrial development, healthcare, education, and the electrification of transport and cooking.

Is Electricity Growing in Kenya?

Electricity consumption in Kenya is growing and setting new records. The latest 2026 figure of 271 kWh per person exceeds the previous record of 259 kWh in 2025 by 12 kWh, an increase of almost 5%. Low-carbon electricity generation also reached a new high, rising from 213 kWh per person in 2025 to 225 kWh, an increase of nearly 6%. These are encouraging gains: clean generation per person increased by as much as total consumption per person. Sustained, faster growth would help Kenya narrow its substantial electricity gap and meet future demand from electrification, industry, and digital services.

Suggestions

Kenya should expand its established wind generation while accelerating solar deployment and developing a pathway toward nuclear electricity. Expanding transmission and distribution alongside generation would help deliver more clean electricity to homes and businesses. Relevant examples include South Africa, which generates about 19 TWh from solar and 11 TWh from nuclear, and India, with about 223 TWh of solar, 126 TWh of wind, and 57 TWh of nuclear electricity. These examples offer useful reference points for scaling several low-carbon technologies together, although generation totals alone do not identify which policies worked best. Kenya could also study Brazil’s wind expansion, with about 110 TWh generated, and the United Arab Emirates’ experience establishing nuclear generation, now producing about 32 TWh. Solar procurement, wind project development, grid planning, and nuclear workforce and regulatory preparation are practical areas for international cooperation.

History

Kenya’s low-carbon electricity history combines fluctuations in hydropower with important geothermal and wind breakthroughs. Hydropower fell by a combined 1.9 TWh in 1999–2000, then recovered 1.8 TWh in 2001–2002. Another combined decline of 1.3 TWh in 2008–2009 was matched by a 1.3 TWh increase in 2010, followed by a further 0.8 TWh gain in 2012. Geothermal delivered a major advance in 2014, adding 2.1 TWh, with further increases of 0.6 TWh in 2017 and 0.5 TWh in 2023. Wind added 1.3 TWh in 2019 and another 0.7 TWh in 2021, broadening Kenya’s clean electricity supply. Meanwhile, hydropower decreased in 2014, 2019, and 2021–2022, but rose by 0.8 TWh in 2018 and 1 TWh in both 2020 and 2024. Overall, the standout progress has been the expansion and diversification of low-carbon generation—a foundation Kenya can build on to deliver much more electricity.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.