County energy planning in Kenya: Local participation and local solutions in Migori County

The study identifies a strong desire for citizen involvement in energy planning in Migori County, where energy use is dominated by biomass and kerosene. It proposes a participatory framework consisting of six key activities to move away from top-down planning and better meet local energy needs.

• The study identifies six key activity types that can enable effective citizen participation and overcome barriers in energy planning: stakeholder engagement and awareness creation, needs assessment, resource mapping, visioning and action planning, capacity-building, and implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
• Energy consumption in Migori County is dominated by four sources: charcoal, firewood, dry cell batteries, and kerosene. There is a significant divide between rural and urban areas; rural households rely heavily on kerosene (97%) and firewood (96%), while urban households have greater access to electricity (65%), candles (56%), and LPG (39%).
• Electricity access in rural Migori is severely limited, with only 2% of rural households connected. The primary barriers to connection are the absence of a power grid in the area and the high cost of the initial connection fee.
• While ownership of improved cookstoves is high, their actual use as a primary cooking source is very low in rural areas. Approximately 89.6% of rural households still use an open three-stone fire as their main stove, with only 6.9% using an improved cookstove as their primary option.
• Household energy expenditures are highest for charcoal, averaging KES 1,334 per month, followed by LPG at KES 869. Kerosene and firewood costs average KES 351 and KES 531 per month, respectively.
• There is a high demand for citizen participation in energy planning, with 79% of surveyed households expressing a desire to be involved. This interest is more pronounced in rural households (84%) than in urban ones (58%).
• Citizens prefer direct communication, such as surveys, as their primary channel for engagement, followed by consultation with influential community members like ward administrators.
• Focus group discussions revealed significant social and health challenges associated with current energy sources, including respiratory problems from biomass, and risks of rape, snake bites, and harassment for women collecting firewood.
• Mobile phone charging represents a significant energy service gap in rural areas; 90% of rural households own a phone, but only 10% can charge them at home, with most traveling an average of 1km to nearby towns or markets.

APA

Johnson, O., Nyambane, A., Cyoy, E., & Oito, L. G. (2016). County energy planning in Kenya: Local participation and local solutions in Migori County. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WP-2016-01-Kenya-county-energy-planning.pdf

Chicago

Johnson, Oliver, Anne Nyambane, Emmanuel Cyoy, and Lloyd George Oito. County energy planning in Kenya: Local participation and local solutions in Migori County. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2016. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WP-2016-01-Kenya-county-energy-planning.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Johnson |first1=Oliver |last2=Nyambane |first2=Anne |last3=Cyoy |first3=Emmanuel |last4=Oito |first4=Lloyd George |title=County energy planning in Kenya: Local participation and local solutions in Migori County |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=February 2016 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WP-2016-01-Kenya-county-energy-planning.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{johnson2016county, author = {Johnson, Oliver and Nyambane, Anne and Cyoy, Emmanuel and Oito, Lloyd George}, title = {{County energy planning in Kenya: Local participation and local solutions in Migori County}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2016}, month = feb, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WP-2016-01-Kenya-county-energy-planning.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }