Nairobi, Sept. 6 -- Kenya has reduced expensive thermal power on the national grid to avoid burdening consumers with steep electricity prices even as fears deepen over Kenya Power's ability to meet a fast-rising demand.

An analysis of electricity supply data shows Kenya Power tapped 646.46 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of thermal power, an equivalent of 8.1 percent of the total electricity bought from producers in the six months ended June 2026. This was a drop compared to the 727.16 million kWh (10 percent) tapped in the same period last year.

The drop in the costly thermal power coincided with a jump in electricity imports to 973.8 million kWh, or 12.3 percent of the total electricity available to Kenya Power, up from 743.92 million kW...