Nairobi, April 22 -- Electricity imports between January and March this year hit an all-time high, as the country increasingly turned to Ethiopia and Uganda even as generation from the dams started picking up.

Kenya imported 408.78 Gigawatt-hours (GWh) from the two countries in the period, a 41.7 per cent rise from 288.3 GWh shipped in the same period last year, according to official data.

Power imports, which cost Kenya Power an estimated Sh4.23 billion in the period under review, helped lower reliance on dirty thermal plants to meet rising demand and reduced the cost, given that hydro-power is the cheapest electricity.

Power bills fell by an average of Sh1 per unit last month, marking the second consecutive month. Domestic consumers ...