Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Magazine Ma | Page 28

Water & Energy

KENYA
WATER
INDUSTRY
ASSOCIATION

The Importance of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energies for
Water Service Providers
By Alec Kimathi, SWAP-bfz

W

ater Service Providers (WSPs) were formed
as publicly-owned but privately-run entities
on commercial-based principles to ensure growth
and sustainability. WSPs across Kenya operate under
a regulated water tariff that is calculated to recover
Operation & Maintenance (O&M) costs such as
personnel, chemicals and electricity (the largest). With
water and sanitation coverage currently at 60% & 45%
respectively, the demand for these services to reach 100%
coverage by 2015 (as part of MDGs and towards Vision
2030} will require huge financial investments. Currently,
there is limited concessionary and grant finance available
from international donors for water and sanitation
services’ expansion. The K [