Smart energy meters for refugees’ community facilities

Project context: Kakuma, Kenya – energy access situation

Kakuma and Kalobeyei hold the second-largest in-formal settlement of Refugees in Kenya. Kakuma refugee camp is in the North-western region of Kenya. As of 18th March 2022, Kakuma camp and Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement had a population of 226,737 registered refugees and asylum-seekers.

Despite the robust economy in Kakuma and Kalobeyei, there is a lack of access to sustainable energy amongst the refugees: 93% of the households in Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Settlement do not have access to reliable electricity. Communal facilities, including schools, health centers, registration centers and other support facilities are either powered by off-grid diesel generators or completely lack access to energy.

As of 2021, around 10% of communal facilities have access to sustainable energy in Kakuma and Kalobeyei. UNHCR started a programme to scale up renewable energy systems with the potential to provide 31 schools and 7 health facilities with improved access to electricity for around 69,000 students and over 150,000 patients respectively. The installed energy smart meters will support this project by providing reliable monitoring data on the facilities powered with diesel generators and informing the design of renewable energy systems.