Nairobi, Aug. 14 -- Some 780 private healthcare facilities across Kenya have shifted to solar power, as they delink their operations from the national grid to cut costs and ensure stable electricity supplies.

The shift follows a deal between their lobby organisation, the Rural and Urban Private Hospitals Association (Rupha), and renewable energy firm Cytek Solar. Installation of the solar panels is part of a twin approach to cut electricity bills from Kenya Power, guarantee stable supply, and avoid the outages tied to the national grid.

Rupha chairman Mohamud Ali said private hospitals are grappling with unreliable electricity supplies, costly diesel generators, and fixed Social Health Authority (SHA) tariffs, which do not reflect chang...