KENYA ELECTRICITY (LIVESAY/WEBER/SALTZMAN/WOLFF) --
PBS NHWE MAY 2017
UPDATED
FRI. MAY 12. APX. TRT 9:06
(SUGGESTED LEAD)
SOMETHING ALL OF YOU WATCHING THIS BROADCAST ON T-V OR ONLINE TAKE FOR
GRANTED IS ELECTRICITY. BUT EVEN TODAY
ABOUT 25 PERCENT OF THE EARTH’S POPULATION IS NOT WIRED. THAT INCLUDES 300 MILLION PEOPLE IN INDIA AND
600 MILLION IN AFRICA. ABOUT 70 PERCENT
OF THE POPULATIONS OF BURMA, CAMBODIA, HAITI, AND NORTH KOREA ARE LIVING
WITHOUT ELECTRICITY. ONE COUNTRY THAT
HAS MADE GREAT STRIDES TOWARD UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY IS KENYA. IN TONIGHT’S SIGNATURE SEGMENT, NEWSHOUR
WEEKEND SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT CHRISTOPHER LIVESAY REPORTS ON KENYA’S PLAN TO
NARROW THE ELECTRICITY GAP AND WHETHER THE INVESTMENT REALLY PAYS OFF.
###
(PKG)
SELINE AKINYI MUMBE IS 49-YEARS OLD AND LIVED WITHOUT
ELECTRICITY FOR HER FIRST 48 YEARS...UNTIL SHE FINALLY GOT POWER 10 MONTHS AGO.
CHRIS 09:41:30;24: So three buildings here, all connected to electricity?
SELINE: Yea.
MUMBE LIVES IN UNAMI, A
VILLAGE 170 MILES NORTHWEST OF NAIROBI.
SELINE AKINYI
MUMBE I
felt like I was in a different world, because my house was well lit. I knew I was no longer going to spend money
on oil, I was also not going to spend a lot of time walking to the market to
charge my cell phone.
(GFX 01
over video)
HER HOME WAS RECENTLY
HOOKED UP AS PART OF THE "LAST MILE CONNECTIVITY PROJECT" - A
GOVERNMENT PROGRAM TO CONNECT 70 PERCENT OF KENYANS TO THE GRID BY THIS YEAR.
(GFX 02
over video)
IT’S PART OF A LARGER GOAL TO ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL ACCESS
TO ELECTRICITY BY 2020. IT’S AN
AMBITIOUS UNDERTAKING -- KENYA WOULD BECOME ONE OF THE FIRST SUB-SAHARAN
AFRICAN NATIONS TO REACH THIS MILESTONE.
(GFX 03 over video)
AND KENYA HAS MADE PROGRESS RAPIDLY, GOING FROM 27
PERCENT OF THE POPULATION CONNECTED IN 2013, TO 56 PERCENT IN 2016… ADDING MORE
THAN 1.2 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS TO THE GRID LAST YEAR ALONE.
THE QUEST BEGAN A DECADE AGO BY BUILDING TRANSFORMERS
THAT DISTRIBUTE ELECTRICITY. FIRST PRIORITY WAS CONNECTING, HOSPITALS, MARKET
CENTERS, AND SCHOOLS TO THE GRID.
NOW, THE “LAST MILE” PROJECT IS FOCUSING ON CONNECTING
RURAL HOUSEHOLDS
MUMBE USES THE NEW ELECTRICITY TO LIGHT UP HER HOUSE,
IRON HER FAMILY’S CLOTHES… AND WARM WATER WITH A HEATER THAT PLUGS INTO THE
WALL.
SELINE AKINYI MUMBE
Initially, I used to iron with a charcoal iron box, and boil water with
firewood. Having electricity makes work
easier. Even if I want to wash my clothes at night all I have to do is switch
on the light.
SHE’S ALSO STARTED A SMALL BUSINESS. NEIGHBORS WITHOUT
ELECTRICITY PAY 10 CENTS TO CHARGE THEIR CELL PHONES.
SUSANNA BERKOUWER IS A RESEARCH ECONOMIST AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY. SHE’S PART OF A TEAM THAT SURVEYED 4,000 HOUSEHOLDS IN KENYA TO MEASURE THE
IMPACT OF ELECTRICITY ON PEOPLE’S LIVES -- EVERYTHING FROM HEALTH TO EDUCATION
TO EMPLOYMENT.
SUSANNA BERKOUWER: (19:51) We ask a general question about life satisfaction. Just how satisfied are you with your life? And actually we saw an improvement there. // It frees up people’s time, it allows them to engage in other activities in the home, or just to take that time to relax and feel happier and be less stressed.
KENYAN ENERGY MINISTER CHARLES KETER SAYS THE SUCCESS
OF THE LAST MILE PROJECT CAN BE APPLIED THROUGHOUT AFRICA, WHERE MORE THAN 600
MILLION PEOPLE -- HALF OF THE CONTINENT’S POPULATION -- STILL LIVE WITHOUT ELECTRICITY.
CHARLES KETER: (21:55)
I think the African continent can learn a lot from the Last Mile connectivity.
That it’s possible for governments to spearhead the programs // so that the
narrative of // Africa being a “dark continent” should not be there.
TWO-THIRDS OF THE COST OF KENYA’S ELECTRIFICATION CAMPAIGN
IS BEING FUNDED BY LOANS FROM THE WORLD BANK AND THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK.
BUT EVEN WITH SUCH WIDESPREAD SUPPORT, THE COST OF CONNECTING
TO THE GRID AND WIRING A HOUSE FALLS ON INDIVIDUAL KENYANS.
(BROLL FARMING)
LIKE ROY ATIENO. HE AND HIS WIFE, BELINDA, ARE SUBSISTENCE FARMERS IN UUNAMI. THERE’S A NEW ELECTRICITY POLE RIGHT OUTSIDE THEIR HOUSE, BUT THEY CAN’T AFFORD THE COST OF CONNECTING TO IT.
CHRIS: (08:22) Chris: Is it frustrating to be too close to the source of electricity but not have access?
ROY ATIENO: I always wish, whenever I wake out from my
house, I check at the pole, and then I wish it is already in my house. It is
frustrating!
(GFX 6 - SOURCED TO BERKELEY)
IN A 2015 U-C BERKELEY
STUDY, HALF OF RURAL KENYAN HOUSEHOLDS SURVEYED LIVED WITHIN 200 METERS OF A
POWER LINE, YET DIDN’T HAVE ELECTRICITY.
SUSANNA BERKOUWER (38:14) There’s this whole other category of “undergrid,” which are people that are off grid, so they’re not directly connected to electricity, but they’re not living 100 miles away from the electricity grid. They’re actually living, in many cases, ten feet away from their nearest pole.
(GFX 04)
THE COST OF CONNECTING TO
THE GRID HAS DROPPED FROM ABOUT 350 DOLLARS BEFORE THE “LAST MILE” PROGRAM
STARTED … TO 150 DOLLARS TODAY, THANKS TO SUBSIDIES FROM THE KENYAN
GOVERNMENT. AND A POWER COMPANY LOAN
PROGRAM GIVES RESIDENTS THREE YEARS TO PAY OFF THE INSTALLATION BILL.
STILL, 150 DOLLARS IS
ABOUT FOUR TIMES WHAT KENYANS IN THIS REGION EARN IN A MONTH.
FOR THOSE WHO DO
MANAGE TO GET CONNECTED, IT’S ONLY WORTH THE INVESTMENT IF THE POWER
ACTUALLY WORKS. MANY KENYANS COMPLAIN OF FREQUENT OUTAGES, LASTING
FROM MINUTES TO DAYS.
WHEN WE MET HAIR SALON OWNER SUSAN ADHIAMBO KOPOT
RIGHT OUTSIDE UNAMI, THE SALON HAD LOST POWER FOR MORE THAN AN HOUR.
(NATPOP HAIR
SALON)
KOPOT AND HER EMPLOYEES WERE LIMITED TO BRAIDING
CUSTOMER’S HAIR, BECAUSE THEY COULDN’T USE A HAIR STRAIGHTENER OR BLOW DRYER.
SUSAN KOPOT (15:46):
I lose a lot of money (18:00) // It feels bad, because you decide to spend your
money to get an electricity connection, so you can use it to run your business,
but you end up experiencing blackouts. It’s very disappointing.
STANLEY MUTWIRI
(44:43) With this type of rapid expansion, we have had a lot of planned
interruptions.
STANLEY MUTWIRI IS THE HEAD OF INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE
GOVERNMENT-CONTROLLED KENYA POWER AND LIGHTING COMPANY -- KNOWN AS K-P-L-C.
MUTWIRI CONCEDES THAT SOME UNPLANNED OUTAGES OCCUR DUE TO
ACTS OF NATURE -- LIKE WIND OR RAIN -- BUT HE SAYS MOST ARE PLANNED AND
NECESSARY.
STANLEY MUTWIRI: Every time you are connecting some new customers on the line, you must interrupt others. //
(NATPOP SUBSTATION, PEOPLE WORKING)
K-P-L-C IS BUILDING NEW
SUBSTATIONS TO INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF THE ELECTRICAL GRID. WHEN THIS STATION GOES ONLINE NEXT MONTH, THE
TRANSFORMER WILL BE ABLE TO SUPPLY THREE TIMES AS MANY HOUSEHOLDS AS BEFORE.
KENYA ENERGY MINISTER CHARLES KETER SAYS THE GOVERNMENT IS ALSO PLANNING AHEAD AND PRODUCING EXCESS POWER
RIGHT NOW, TO
ENSURE IT CAN ACCOMMODATE THE RISE IN FUTURE DEMAND.
CHARLES KETER: (10:46) We cannot wait until when we have maybe big industries or the demand is high.// (11:26) It’s like building a road. You cannot say, ‘Why are you building a road when there are no vehicles?’ You build the road to create that environment which people can now purchase vehicles.
RENEWABLE
ENERGY WILL BE CRUCIAL TO KENYA MEETING THE SURGE IN DEMAND FOR ELECTRICITY.
RIGHT NOW THE COUNTRY GETS OVER 60 PERCENT OF ITS ENERGY FROM RENEWABLE
SOURCES, SUCH AS GEOTHERMAL, HYDRO, AND MORE RECENTLY, WIND.
THE
TURKANA WIND FARM, IN NORTHERN KENYA, IS DESIGNED TO SUPPLY ONE-FIFTH OF THE
NATION'S ENERGY. WHEN IT IS COMPLETED
LATER THIS YEAR, IT WILL BE THE LARGEST WIND FARM IN AFRICA.
IN KENYA,
RENEWABLE ENERGY IS CHEAPER THAN FOSSIL FUELS.
STANLEY MUTWIRI (13:36) Fossil fuels have got one unknown, that is what is going to be the cost of fuel tomorrow? We don’t know what’s going to happen. We don’t know how long this fossil fuel is going to be there. But the renewable energy like, for example, the sun // we always say, I’m sure tomorrow the sun will be up.
NIGHTTIME IS WHEN THE PERSONAL IMPACT OF ELECTRICITY IS MOST VISIBLE…AS WELL AS ITS UNEVEN DISTRIBUTION.
(NATPOP FAMILY DINNER)
AT ROY ATIENO’S HOUSE, WITH NO ELECTRICITY, THE FAMILY
EATS DINNER BY THE LIGHT OF ONLY TWO KEROSENE LAMPS.
BUT DOWN THE ROAD, SELINE MUMBE’S ELECTRIFIED HOUSE
HAS BECOME A BEACON FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN. THEY COME FROM ALL OVER THE VILLAGE TO
STUDY AND DO HOMEWORK.
BERYL JANE OTIENO IS 17.
BERYL
JANE OTIENO: By around 9:00PM the lights used to get dim, and // I could not
even see what I was reading clearly. // (05:58) I used to study for two to
three hours, but nowadays I always study for five hours.
BUT SURPRISINGLY,
BERKOUWER SAYS, THE RESEARCH SHOWS THAT PEOPLE’S LIVES HAVEN’T SIGNIFICANTLY
CHANGED WITH THE FLIP OF A SWITCH.
(GFX05)
AFTER ONE YEAR...
-STUDENTS DID NOT PERFORM
BETTER IN ENGLISH OR MATH TESTS
-USING ELECTRICITY, WHICH LIKELY REDUCES THE BURNING
OF KEROSENE OR WOOD, DIDN’T IMPROVE HEALTH; AND
-WHILE WOMEN WORKED MORE, HOUSEHOLD INCOMES DIDN’T
IMPROVE.
SUSANNA BERKOUWER: (46:28) We’d like to go back in a few years and
see if the long term effects are different than the short term effects. // But
maybe not. Maybe these things just aren’t going to improve by as much as people
were expecting.
ONE REASON MAY BE THAT
NEWLY CONNECTED HOUSEHOLDS DON’T HAVE THAT MANY WAYS TO USE THE ELECTRICITY
YET.
SUSANNA BERKOUWER (33:26) If you provide somebody with an electricity connection, but they’re not able to afford the appliances that would really allow them to use that electricity connection, how much could it really even benefit them?’ // if we can answer those types of questions and we can compare that with similar research that looks at the effects of improving your education or the effects of improving your health care, then a household, or indeed a government can make a decision about which of those is better to invest in.
BUT
ENERGY MINISTER CHARLES KETER SAYS PROVIDING ELECTRICITY IS A HUMAN RIGHT AND
SHOULD BE A PRIORITY, EVEN FOR POOR, RURAL HOUSEHOLDS.
CHRISTOPHER LIVESAY: Some of them have homes with roofs made out of thatch. Some of them don’t have reliable access to water or even food. Is electricity really the priority for these people?
CHARLES KETER: Power is very essential in any developing country. And that’s why as a country, whether you live in a grass-thatch home or any other related structures, we will provide you with power.
###
RESEARCH
PAPERS
Electrification for 'Under Grid'
Households in Rural Kenya (study):
- Plotting out costs and demand for electricity connections: http://emiguel.econ.berkeley.edu/assets/miguel_research/74/Cost-demand-MANUSCRIPT_2016-07-21.pdf
- Appliance adoption (and lack thereof) in Rural
Kenya: http://emiguel.econ.berkeley.edu/assets/miguel_research/75/Lee_Miguel_Wolfram_2016a.pdf
CUTS--
IT TOOK DECADES FOR THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRIES TO REACH UNIVERSAL ELECTRICITY ACCESS. BUT KETER BELIEVES THE GOAL IN KENYA IS ATTAINABLE, AND POINTS TO ALL OF THE SMALLER, INCREMENTAL PROGRESS ALREADY ACHIEVED.
KETER: It's good to have targets. Even America can come and learn from Kenya. //
----
ROY: At the
moment I just work on my land. Nothing else. I don’t have any other source [of
income]. I just have to work on the land to earn my living with my family. I
don’t have any source, any proper source.
----
Beryl JANE OTIENO:
(05:58) I used to finish my chores
around 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM. By around 9:00PM I was tired and the
lights used to get dim, [and] I got bored because I could not even see what I
was reading clearly. But now with electricity I can do anything I want even if
it is late at night. I used to study for 2-3 hours but nowadays I always study
for five hours.
--
EVEN THOUGH ELECTRICITY
LETS KIDS LIKE ATIENO STUDY MORE, BERKOUWER SAYS THAT SO FAR, HER RESEARCH
HASN’T SHOWN AN IMPROVEMENT IN CHILDREN’S TEST SCORES.
---
BERKOUWER SAYS RESEARCH IS CRUCIAL BECAUSE KENYA
-- JUST LIKE ANY OTHER COUNTRY -- HAS LIMITED RESOURCES. SO ANALYZING HOW LARGE
SCALE INVESTMENTS TANGIBLY IMPACT PEOPLE’S LIVES IS THE ONLY WAY GOVERNMENTS
CAN MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS.
[grx official
study/bullet points]
IN FACT, SHE SAYS THE RESULTS OF HER
TEAM’S TK YEAR RESEARCH STUDY WERE NOT AS POSITIVE AS ANTICIPATED, WITH
NO IMPROVEMENTS IN MANY AREAS --
INCLUDING HEALTH AND HOUSEHOLD INCOME -- AFTER ONE YEAR OF CONNECTIVITY.
---
ALT:
CHARLES KETER (13:15) Whether you live in a grass-thatch home or any other
related structures, we will provide you with power.
CHRIS LIVESAY (16:17) Clearly, electricity is necessary for development in
terms of business. But does that always ensure that the average person also
benefits from that type of development?
CHARLES KETER: (17:56) // It's also one of the basic requirements by the
constitution. // there are benefits in different levels. Small person, big company,
all of them will enjoy benefits
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6:08 |
CHRISTOPHER LIVESAY SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT |