Achieving a just energy transition in Kenya’s electricity sector: exploring the role of policy coherence

This SEI report presents insights on the role of policy coherence in the Kenyan government’s efforts to achieve a just energy transition in Kenya. It discusses the drivers and outcomes of policy coherence. The findings are based on an analysis of the policy landscape and interactions between key policy objectives, as well as a set of interviews. The results and recommendations from this analysis were discussed and validated in a workshop with 25 experts and decision-makers on 7 June 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Kenya is a lower middle-income country committed to becoming a middle-income country, with the ambition to provide “high quality of life to all its citizens in a clean and secure environment by 2030” (Government of Kenya, 2007). In 2022, Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP) was USD 113 630 million, and GDP per capita was USD 2240 (Government of Kenya, 2024, p. 6; KNBS, 2023a, p. 28). Although Kenya has made strides to reduce poverty and inequality, it still faces significant development challenges. For example, 38.6% of the population were still living in overall poverty in 2021; there is high youth unemployment (with people between 18–34 years representing 63% of the total population seeking work in 2019), and inter-province and intra-province disparities in development and availability of opportunities (with a national Gini coefficient of 0.389 in 2021) (Government of Kenya, 2020a; KNBS, 2019, p. 240; KNBS, 2023b, p. 50, 68). Universal access to modern energy remains a challenge. In 2021, 76.49 % of the population had access to electricity, with wide inequalities between urban and rural areas (EPRA, 2021, p. 19). More than 70% of the population still relies on charcoal and wood for cooking (Government of Kenya, 2022a, p. 28).

source:

https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/electricity-policy-coherence-kenya-sei2025-058.pdf