Application of GIS in Sub-National Energy Planning in Kenya – Integrating Primary Data Into a Least-Cost Electrification Model Using OnSSET (Case Study of Narok County, Kenya)

Integrated and inclusive energy planning is critical to ensuring that suitable energy solutions at any given location are considered. This then requires extensive collaboration among national and subnational governments and the private sector. To design effective electrification and clean cooking solutions, it is necessary to gain a better understanding of the unique contexts of the end users, including households, businesses, institutions, and small and medium-sized enterprises, among others, due to their varying demographics, socio-economic situations, energy resource availability, and proximity to power infrastructure. Local government agencies and utilities need accurate and up-to-date geospatial data to visualise and analyse end users’ energy needs and design appropriate energy solutions that are locally relevant. In most cases, however, geospatial data suitable for energy planning are either scarce, fragmented, inconsistent, tagged as confidential, or exist only at the national level, thus hampering their use for integrated energy planning at subnational levels. This publication explains how we addressed some of these geospatial data challenges while developing the energy plan for Narok County.