Public-Private Partnership Briefs: Thika Power, Kenya

In Kenya, where only 25 percent of the population has access to electricity, the World Bank Group is supporting the government’s Least Cost Power Development Plan, which calls for an increase in the number of independent power producers (IPPs) and a more diversified energy mix. The program benefits from a combination of guarantees from IDA, financing from IFC, and guarantees from MIGA. These instruments are playing an important role in increasing investor confidence and mobilizing the long-term financing needed to construct power plants. The Thika power plant was the first plant to be commissioned under the plan.