Energy efficiency in Kenya: Light bulbs
· 11 min read
Over the past decade, Kenya has demonstrated significant progress in improving its energy landscape. On a clear trajectory towards universal electricity access by 2030, the country now stands as a regional leader in East Africa. Having reached full urban electrification, securing a stable off-grid solution for rural areas is now key to achieving this goal. Thanks to a combination of accessible renewable energy and due policy, Kenya’s electricity is progressively becoming less oil-dependent, with oil sources making up to only 10% of overall electricity production in 2023.1
Despite the high electrification rates and growing share of renewables in the electricity mix, Kenya continues to face challenges related to energy efficiency – an area that offers significant opportunities for both energy and cost savings. Inefficient practices rooted in consumer behaviour and market gaps undermine the long-term benefits of the ambitious electrification strategy.
LED bulbs present an opportunity for energy efficiency gains and, therefore, an acceleration of both electrification and energy transition efforts. Due to their longer life-span and smaller energy usage, LEDs help reduce household electricity expenditures, lower peak electricity demand, and decrease overall emissions from power generation. Despite rising demand for LEDs in Kenya, the market falls short of delivering high-quality bulbs and, therefore, undermines the energy efficiency gains, ultimately hurting households.
Kenya’s geographic and legislative landscape positions it in the centre of regional energy development progress. Electrification is the key area of the country’s energy development progress, showcased in the expanding electricity access increase from 37% in 2013 to 79% in 2023.2 Through its Last Mile Connectivity Project, established in 2015, Kenya decreased the number of people without access to electricity by almost half, from 20 to 11 million. While urban areas have achieved almost universal electricity access, rural electrification lags behind, with only 70% of areas being electrified. Hence, many communities remain reliant on off-grid or mini-grid solutions. This urban-rural disparity highlights the ongoing need for targeted policymaking in line with Kenya’s Vision 2030 universal energy access agenda.4 Furthermore, the growing share of renewables has enabled the country to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, with oil-based generation accounting for only around 10 % of total electricity production in 2023.5
Despite this, energy efficiency remains an underexploited opportunity for further gains, particularly in the residential and commercial sectors. By the early 2000s, fishermen on Lake Victoria used to spend half of their income on kerosene lamps they used to fish after sunset.6 After Kenya tapped into its renewable power potential, these energy-intensive and hazardous lamps were replaced by incandescent bulbs. Soon, most homes relied on them as they offered a cheaper solution for the rising electricity demand. However, such a type of light bulb only converts less than 10% of electricity into visible light and generates significant heat on the way.
To explore the benefits of energy efficiency, Kenya implemented a Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol for energy-saving CFLs. Kenya Power was to distribute 3.3 million free CFLs among the households to benefit around one million customers and elevate the quality of the electricity they get for the price paid.7 Technological improvements now open doors to even greater energy efficiency.
As the government introduces more energy efficiency goals, it also pursues partnerships related to LED utilization. Notably, the World Bank’s Lighting Africa Programme promises to expand efficient lighting and boost renewables. Additional efforts include a UNEP initiative that supplied 100 Kenyan boarding schools with low-cost, energy-efficient LED bulbs, addressing high electricity expenses that previously forced schools to switch off incandescent lighting as early as 10 p.m.
According to the European Commission’s technical report on the latest energy efficiency progress, Kenya is currently the largest market for LED products in the East African region.8 However, the report also highlights persistent concerns regarding the quality and durability of LED products available on the market, raising questions about the extent to which these technologies are delivering their expected efficiency gains. Similar concerns were already identified a decade earlier in a flashlight-focused case-study by Mills et al., which documented how low-cost LED products frequently failed to meet performance claims, resulting in shorter lifespans, reduced luminous output, and diminished consumer trust.9
Taken together, the challenge with energy-efficient lighting lies not in the absence of LED technology but in how it is implemented. Low-quality LED bulbs often dominate the market and appear to offer the same service as higher-quality options at a lower price, leading consumers to choose cheaper alternatives. As a result, households fail to achieve the promised long-term energy and cost savings, since low-quality LEDs require frequent replacement and may consume more energy, increasing total costs and undermining trust in energy-efficient technologies. Moreover, the spread of sub-standard LEDs exacerbates information asymmetries between consumers and suppliers. In the absence of reliable quality signals or trusted certification, consumers base purchasing decisions on upfront price rather than lifecycle value.
LED lighting has demonstrated efficiency benefits that ultimately lead to energy and cost savings for both households and enterprises. To address the present gap between the technical potential of LED bulbs and the actual outcomes observed on the current market, this policy proposal focuses on improving the quality and reliability of LED products available on the market. Rather than focusing on the sole distribution of the LED products, like done in India through the UJALA Project, the proposal targets a more country-tailored multiframework solution to the structural challenges of the efficient lighting market.10
The first pillar of the proposed multiframework policy is the introduction of mandatory minimum quality and performance standardization for LED lighting products. Such standardization would define clear thresholds for key performance indicators, such as lifespan, durability, and safety. Only products that meet these requirements would be allowed to enter the Kenyan market.
These standards should be maintained by the already existing authority, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS). While KEBS currently concentrates on the certification scheme for locally manufactured products, a wider range of focus would accommodate a true improvement of the quality of life. KEBS would be responsible for updating LED-related standards in line with international benchmarks and ensuring that all imported and domestically produced products comply before entering the market. This would help reduce the inflow of substandard products and level the playing field for compliant manufacturers.
Secondly, introducing a clear and highly visible energy efficiency label for lighting products is essential. While standards ensure minimum quality, labelling empowers consumers to make informed choices. The proposed label would provide simple information on energy consumption, expected lifespan, and performance, using symbols or ratings that are accessible especially to consumers with limited technical knowledge.
Due to relatively high literacy rates (82.88% in 2022) in Kenya, the labelling would use a written assessment of the quality of the product, with a colour-coded scheme ranging from A (being the most efficient) to F (being the least efficient).11 This labelling should be used on all lighting products, not only LED, with future possibility of expanding the range of the labelling to all energy consuming products, such as seen in the EU and elsewhere.
This labelling scheme would help address the information gap between sellers and buyers. Traditionally, costumers rely heavily on price as the main decision factor, as claims on packaging are difficult to verify, or non-existent whatsoever. A trusted and recognized label, backed by regulatory enforcement by the KEBS, would allow households to compare products based on long-term value rather than upfront cost alone.
To ensure benefits and maximize the effectiveness of the labelling introduction, periodic market checks should be mandatory to ensure compliance. While KEBS may not be at the capacity to commit to such monitoring, international organizations, such as the World Bank, may use their data management and analysis tools to assist.
Since Kenya’s energy prices are among the highest in Africa, affordability remains a major struggle.12 In addition to regulatory measures, a temporary and targeted subsidy for high-quality LED bulbs would support the transition towards more efficient lighting and make efficient electricity more affordable. By lifting the primary cost barrier while maintaining quality requirements, this targeted subsidy would help ensure that energy efficiency gains from LED adoption are equitable and sustained, closing the social gap between households.
While labelling and standardization are central to this policy proposal, they are unlikely to succeed and have a broad, long-term positive effect without basic consumer awareness and effective public engagement efforts. Therefore, the proposal includes a limited but targeted information campaign to explain the benefits of quality LEDs and how to interpret the new labels.
A 2019 energy efficiency lighting study in Kenya found that the strongest effect by far in encouraging CFL uptake occurred when a monetary incentive was combined with simplified information, resulting in nearly ten times higher adoption rates than the control group, reaching about 84%.13 This outcome confirms that future energy efficiency policies must adopt a beyond-finance approach that combines financial support with targeted information.
From the bottom up, at the household level, improved access to more energy efficient LED products is expected to result in more reliable and durable lighting. Households could benefit from lower electricity consumption and reduced electricity expenditure, especially in low-income settings. Furthermore, overtime, improved lighting quality and prolonged illumination time can result in more space for studying, domestic and community activities, as well as small-scale economic work after sunset.
At the market level, the introduction of standards and labelling is expected to improve transparency and push the demand towards higher quality products. Due to the rising consumer awareness, suppliers and importers would be incentivised to comply with the official requirements. As a result, this would reduce the presence of short-lived LED products and support fairer competition among manufacturers.
A broader electricity system would benefit the implementation of this policy, thanks to a lowered electricity demand resulting from the adoption of more energy-efficient solutions. Reduced demand would then ease pressure on generation and distribution infrastructure, particularly during peak hours.
Environmentally, improved lightning efficiency would reduce indirect emissions associated with electricity generation, even within a largely renewable electricity mix. As energy efficiency improvements are broadly projected to deliver a third of all CO2 emissions reductions between now and 2030 in a NetZero pathway, even the smallest efforts count. Additionally, longer-lasting LED products would reduce the electronic waste produced from frequent bulb disposal.
Although the proposed multilevel policy framework offers clear benefits along the lines of the Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency charter, its implementation may face several practical and institutional challenges that could limit its effectiveness if not carefully addressed.
The first challenge concerns the enforcement of quality standardization. Sub-standard LED products may continue to flow into the country through weak border controls or informal import channels. Without consistent enforcement, quality standards risk remaining largely symbolic, allowing low-quality products to persist on the market.
A second challenge pertains to consumer trust and behavioural inactivity, or inertia. Even with improved labelling and awareness efforts, some consumers may remain reluctant to pay higher upfront prices for certified products. Behavioural change in purchasing decisions often takes time, and short-term policy impacts may therefore be limited. If consumers do not perceive clear and immediate benefits, demand for high-quality LEDs may grow more slowly than anticipated.
Another major consideration must be market response. Stricter standardization and labelling requirements may increase compliance costs to suppliers and importers and, consequently, inflate prices for the costumers
To address all of these, cross-institutional coordination and close cooperation must be implemented. Effective collaboration between domestic actors as well as international players is key to ensuring an efficient achievement of the benefits that energy efficiency behind the LED-related policy has to offer.
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1. World Bank Group. Electricity production from oil sources (% of total) – Kenya. 2025. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.PETR.ZS?locations=KE
2. International Energy Agency. Kenya 2024: Energy Policy Review. 2025
https://www.iea.org/reports/kenya-2024
3. World Bank Group. Access to electricity, rural (% of rural population) – Kenya. 2025. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.RU.ZS?locations=KE
4. Kenya Vision 2030 is a development plan developed by Kenyan government and adopted in 2008 with the goal of increasing the standard of living to middle income by 2030. This plan prioritizes electrification for a high quality of life, aiming for universal access by 2030 through grid expansion, minigrids, solar, and e-mobility.
5. World Bank Group. Electricity production from oil sources (%of total) – Kenya. 2025 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.PETR.ZS?locations=KE
6. Daniel Kammen. Kenya steps ahead into solar future. World Bank Blog. 2011.
https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/climatechange/going-solar-rural-kenya
7. Daily Nation. Kenya Power to give out free green bulbs. 2020.
https://nation.africa/kenya/life-and-style/dn2/kenya-power-to-give-out-free-green-bulbs-870008
8. European Commission: Joint Research Centre, Update on status of solid-state lighting & smart lighting systems – Assessment of latest energy efficiency progresses and world market in solid state and smart lighting, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/223640
9. Mills, Evan, Jennifer L. Tracy, Peter Alstone, Arne Jacobson, and Patrick Avato. “Low-Cost LED Flashlights and Market Spoiling in Kenya’s off-Grid Lighting Market.” Energy Efficiency 8, no. 2 (2015): 323–37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-014-9294-2
10. UJALA Project, or Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LED for All, is an Indian energy access initiative launched in 2015 by the Indian government. Under the UJALA scheme, LED products are provided to domestic consumers for replacement of conventional and inefficient alternatives. This project was an initial motivation for my research of LED products market reality in Kenya.
11. World Bank. Adult literacy rate as a share of the population in Kenya from 2000 to 2022. Chart. 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1233484/adult-literacy-rate-in-kenya/
12. International Energy Agency. Kenya 2024: Energy Policy Review. 2025
https://www.iea.org/reports/kenya-2024
13. Figueroa, Aurelia, Laura De Molière, Anna Pegels, Babette Never, and Florian Kutzner. “Show Me (More than) the Money! Assessing the Social and Psychological Dimensions to Energy Efficient Lighting in Kenya.” Energy Research & Social Science 47 (January 2019): 224–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2018.10.002.
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