Nationally, the proportion of households using lighting in form of electricity generated from the main
grid was 41.4 per cent. Further, the results indicate that slightly more than a third of the households used
parafn as the main source of lighting, a decline compared to 76.4 per cent households in the 2005/06
KIHBS. Tere was a notable increase in the use of solar power for lighting from 1.6 per cent in 2005/06
KIHBS to 14.1 per cent in 2015/16 KIHBS.
Te proportion of households in urban areas using light from electricity was 73.0 per cent compared to 17.1
per cent in rural households. Te proportion of rural households relying on parafn (lantern, tin or pressure
lamps) for lighting declined from 86.4 per cent in 2005/06 KIHBS to 48.6 per cent in 2015/16 KIHBS.
Analysis by counties shows that less than one out of every ten households in Turkana, West Pokot, Wajir,
Bomet and Homa Bay were using lighting from electricity. Counties that registered high proportions of
households using electricity for lighting were Nairobi City, Kiambu, Mombasa and Kajiado. Usage of parafn
as a source of lighting was common in Busia, Homa Bay, Siaya and Bungoma Counties, while wood fuel
was predominant among households in Samburu an