Safaricom’s cleaner energy push struggles to keep pace with growth

Safaricom, Kenya's leading telecommunications company, faced challenges meeting its cleaner energy objectives as its electricity consumption surged by 5.7% to 274,531 megawatt-hours in the 2026 financial year. The company's emissions from energy sources, such as generators, vehicles, and refrigerants, rose by 9.1% to 56,354 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Despite installing solar power at 2,028 network sites and upgrading 800 sites with more efficient power systems, solar energy still only accounted for 5% of the total energy used across the network. Safaricom's energy needs are growing as it expands into data centers, cloud services, and other digital products, making it harder to manage power demand without increasing reliance on diesel generators, which supplied 17% of the energy.

The company is investing in cleaner energy but faces technical constraints at some locations, and financing efforts, such as a KES 20 billion green bond, have not yet provided a clear solution for reducing dependence on grid electricity and diesel. Safaricom aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 but faces increasing challenges to balance power stability, energy cost efficiency, and sustainability.