The Sustainable Energy Access Forum Kenya (SEAF-K) is a national network of CSOs, development partners, individuals and vendors, advocating for access and use of clean, affordable and modern energy services and products. The forum aims to address the limited level of multi-stakeholder engagement by using a holistic approach that convenes relevant stakeholders in the energy sector and provides a platform for addressing challenges that they encounter. SEAF-K believes that once sustainable energy solutions are provided collaboratively through sufficient policy, financial, technological and institutional support frameworks, Kenya can secure a sustainable pathway towards access to modern energy services for all.

The Forum works with government ministries, agencies and departments at both national and sub national levels to effectively deliver clean energy services and products and influence regulatory, policy and legislative frameworks in the energy sector. In 2020, SEAF-K supported a workshop that sought to understand the status of SDG 7 implementation in Kenya, bringing together participants from the Ministry of Energy, county governments, SDG Forum Kenya, Civil Society and the private sector.

The workshop uncovered certain key areas for action in order to improve the implementation of SDG 7 in Kenya. Mr. Paul Mbuthi from Kenya’s Ministry of Energy highlighted areas for cooperation from the SEforALL Action Agenda and Investment Prospectus below:

  1. Development and implementation of a National Energy Efficiency Programme to assess opportunities for energy efficiency in multiple sectors.
  2. Enforcement of standards for electric appliances. To increase their efficiency and impact, a national awareness campaign targeting consumers and distributors will be carried out.
  3. Awareness creation on the use of clean cook stoves and fuels
  4. Definition and scale-up of certification processes for residential and commercial cook stoves

Ms. Florence Syevuo of the SDGs Forum highlighted the need for CSOs to be involved in the Voluntary National Review and reporting, particularly for CSOs for SDG 7 which has five (5) targets and six (6) indicators. Kenya has so far engaged in the 2017 and 2020 VNR global process and in 2019 it produced its first biennial report.

ACCESS Coordinator, Ms. Jacqueline Kimeu, indicated that there is insufficient understanding and collaboration with allies working in other development sectors on the role of energy access as an enabler of other SDGs while highlighting the absence of robust and regular monitoring and evaluation mechanisms with meaningful metrics for energy access. These, she said, call for civil society organizations to work collaboratively to contribute to energy processes at the national, regional, and global level and to localize information coming from the regional and global levels.

SEAF-K has laid out various activities in a bid to address some challenges hampering the achievement of SDG7 targets and they include:

  1. Tracking the progress of implementation of laid out activities and plan for upcoming activities on SDG 7 in Kenya
  2. Holding virtual briefings as build up activities to the High-Level Dialogue on Energy scheduled to be held in September 2021
  3. Undertaking targeted advocacy on the implementation of Energy Act 2019, EPRA Solar PV Regulations and Finance Act 2020
  4. Supporting county development of energy plans provided in the Energy Act 2019
  5. Identifying select vulnerable groups and training them on energy access

SEAF-K is open to partnering with like-minded individuals and organizations in order to enhance the sustainability of the forum and further strengthen its capacity to fulfill planned activities.