Nairobi Drives Majority of Kenya Power’s Extra Electricity Sales

Nairobi supplied 45 per cent of the additional 1.114 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity sold by Kenya Power in the year to June 2026, underscoring the capital’s pivotal role in the utility’s growth.

Data from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) show that the city consumed 501.02 million kWh in the period, far outpacing the second-largest North Eastern region which took 180 million kWh, or 16 per cent of the extra sales.

Epra explains that the region comprising Nairobi, Kiambu, Kajiado, Machakos and Makueni counties “has a high concentration of population and industrial activity, which contributes significantly to its electricity demand.”

The heavy usage is driven by a large number of middle-class households that commonly operate electric cookers, refrigerators and washing machines.

Nairobi also hosted the biggest share of Kenya Power customers, with 3.02 million clients recorded in June 2025, compared with 1.03 million in North Eastern.

The surge in capital-area consumption helped lift Kenya Power’s total electricity sales to 12.78 billion kWh for the year ended June 2026, up from 11.4 billion kWh a year earlier, and boosted revenues to KSh238.24 billion from KSh219.28 billion in the same period.

Over the year the utility added 411,710 new customers, and it will disclose further details of market growth across Nairobi and the other seven regions when its annual report is released.

Outside the capital, Central Rift – covering Nakuru, Narok, Nyandarua, Kericho, Bomet, Baringo and Samburu – accounted for 131.54 million kWh, or 11.8 per cent, of the extra electricity sold; the Coastal region took 6.9 per cent, Mount Kenya 5.9 per cent, North Rift 5.3 per cent and South Nyanza the lowest share at 3.5 per cent.

Epra’s broader figures indicate that Nairobi consumes at least 43 per cent of the national grid’s annual supply, followed by the Coast at 17.7 per cent, North Eastern at 11.3 per cent and Central Rift at 9.4 per cent.

Kenya Power now faces pressure to meet the rising demand while domestic generation expands more slowly, prompting the utility to rely on electricity imports from Ethiopia and Uganda.