Kenya Solar Regulations 2026: EPRA Rules and KPLC Net Metering

Which rules apply to a solar project in Kenya?

Start by separating three questions. Who may do the work? May the installation connect to the distribution network? How is exported electricity credited? A contractor’s licence, a sound design and a net-metering agreement each cover a different part of the process. One does not replace the others.

This guide covers the published net-metering framework, the licence classes, the application steps and the documents a project team should check. It also gives the latest dated status of the rules.

Kenya solar regulations: latest status

The September 2026 notice matters most for existing systems. Here is what pv magazine reports. The notice defines dumping as the unauthorized injection of electricity from a customer’s generation system into the Kenya Power grid. This means pushing power into the grid without company approval or a valid net-metering agreement. Dumped energy is billed at the standard base tariff. EPRA or Kenya Power may take further action if the practice damages equipment. The notice states that net metering stays capped at 1 MW per customer. It also requires bidirectional metering and an EPRA-licensed installation. The gazette text was not retrieved when this page was updated, so this summary relies on the press report. Read the notice itself before you advise a customer on a specific installation.

Who regulates solar in Kenya

EPRA is the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

For county, KEBS and environmental approvals, use our Kenya solar compliance guide and the EPRA licensing guide.

EPRA licensing: check the person, contractor and scope

EPRA’s renewable-energy guidance shows the licensing route and links to licence registers. Its business-process page lists applications and renewals for solar PV workers and contractors on their own. Check both the installer’s licence and the contracting business. Do not rely on how a company describes itself in its marketing.

Solar PV worker classes

The EPRA licensing application guide lists three worker classes. Each applicant must meet one of the education and experience routes below.

The same guide sets out the application, grant and renewal fees for each class.

Contractor, vendor, manufacturer and importer licences

The same guide covers the business licences. Class C1 is for solar PV contractors. Class V1 is for vendors. Class V2 is for manufacturers and importers. A new applicant supplies scanned copies of:

1. Certificate of incorporation or business registration certificate.
2. Certified VAT or PIN certificate, and a valid KRA tax compliance certificate.
3. Certified CR12 from the registrar of companies, not older than one year, for limited companies.
4. Identification documents for all directors, with class G work permits for foreign directors.
5. A valid business permit from the relevant county government.
6. Proof of office occupancy, either a title deed or a valid lease agreement.
7. The licensed technician’s consent letter and a copy of the technician’s licence.
8. A template for completion certificates and warranties, and details of the solar PV design tools used.

EPRA checks the instruments during a licensing inspection. For classes C1, V1 and V2 it requires four tools:

• an earth loop impedance tester
• an insulation resistance tester
• an earth resistance tester
• a clamp meter or multimeter

A draft that proposes different categories is not in force until it is published. For a project file, keep the licence number, category, expiry details and the responsible designer’s details. If the equipment or project setup falls outside the documented class, ask EPRA about scope.

Kenya net-metering capacity limits

Net metering lets a customer who makes power send extra to the grid and get credit for it. The Energy (Net-Metering) Regulations, 2024, Legal Notice 104 set the limits in the table.

If the bill does not show maximum demand, the proviso to regulation 6(1) limits capacity to the contracted load demand. Regulation 5(1) applies the rules to systems of “less than 1 MW”. Regulation 6(1)(b) uses “not exceed one megawatt”. So get written guidance from Kenya Power for a system of exactly 1 MW.

Kenya Power sets the accepted capacity from two things. One is the feasibility study and its own system power-flow studies (regulation 8(1)). The other is its network equipment ratings and stability limits (regulation 6(6)). It does not set capacity from roof area. Before you choose an array size, record the service phase and customer category. Also record the 12-month demand history, the connection point and the proposed export arrangement.

How to apply for KPLC net metering: step by step

The agreement lasts a renewable term of five years (regulation 7(6)). The consumer pays for the meter and the interconnection (regulation 9(6)). Net-metering meters must be smart and bi-directional. They must record peak supply by period and support time-of-use metering (regulation 9(3)). The model agreement also requires the bi-directional meter in its own meter box. The Kenya National Accreditation Service must have accredited the laboratory that calibrates it.

Regulation 9 sets more requirements:

• A visibly open, lockable, manual disconnect switch must be installed, and the licensee must be able to reach it. The exception is a system that meets the automatic shutdown conditions in regulation 9(10).
• The consumer needs the licensee’s approval before any replacement or change to the system or the connection point.
• The licensee may disconnect a system whose output breaks the grid code, on 24 hours’ notice. It may disconnect at once if safety, reliability or security is at risk.
• When the consumer leaves the premises, the agreement can be assigned to the new owner or occupier. That person applies on Form 002 and gets a decision within sixty days.

Export credits are not a full retail offset

Regulation 10 sets the billing rules. The consumer receives a credit for each unit exported. In the regulation’s words, “the credit … shall be fifty percent of the exported unit.” So each exported kWh earns half a kWh of credit.

Billing is monthly. The licensee credits the exported kWh and charges for the net energy supplied at the applicable retail tariff. Surplus credit carries to the next billing period. Unused credit is forfeited at the end of the licensee’s financial year. Do not model exports as a one-for-one retail offset or a cash payment.

A hypothetical month shows the effect. A customer imports 1,000 kWh and exports 300 kWh. The 300 kWh export earns 150 kWh of credit. So the customer is billed for 850 kWh of net energy at the retail tariff. Now say the customer had exported 2,400 kWh against 1,000 kWh imported. The credit would be 1,200 kWh. The net energy supplied would be zero, and 200 kWh of credit would carry forward. These figures are an arithmetic illustration, not a Kenya Power bill quotation. To estimate the money effect, use the actual tariff, the agreement and the treatment of pass-through charges on the bill.

Other rules that affect the model:

• No pay for capacity or reactive power. No pay for voltage and frequency support. No pay for deemed generation during downtime (regulation 10(7)).
• No estimated readings: the licensee must not estimate energy consumed and generated for billing (regulation 10(9)).
• The consumer loses any remaining credits by ending the agreement, unless the agreement is assigned (regulation 10(11)).
• Carbon credits from a net-metering system belong to the consumer unless other law says otherwise (regulation 12).

The credit-expiry rule shapes sizing. Surplus made in one season has to be used within the licensee’s financial year. So interval load data matters. Compare three flows in the financial model. They are generation used on site, exported energy and imported energy. If the model collapses them into one annual total, it hides when surplus is made. It also hides whether credits can be used before they expire.

Third-party ownership needs a direct answer from the utility. The regulations define a consumer as a customer supplied by a licensee. The consumer makes power for self-use and net metering on the customer’s side of the meter. So confirm in writing whether a leased system can be the net-metering party. Ask the same for a system owned under a PPA (power purchase agreement, where a third party owns the system and sells you the power).

Utility approval, grid compliance and penalties

Regulation 7(1) says nobody may run a net-metering system without a net-metering system agreement. An inverter’s export setting is not permission to feed the grid. Regulation 14 makes it an offence to connect without an agreement. It is also an offence to break the agreement’s conditions or to alter a system without the licensee’s prior approval. The fine is set in section 221 of the Energy Act.

The 60-day decision window is a deadline for a decision. It is not a date for switching on. After approval the consumer still has up to six months to commission the meter.

For the grid-dumping notice, ask Kenya Power for the exact current notice or tariff provision it applies. Keep it with the project records. Do not guess a penalty amount from a different rule.

Disputes and appeals

Complaints and disputes under the regulations go to EPRA. The Energy (Complaints and Disputes Resolution) Regulations, 2012 apply. A person who disagrees with an EPRA decision may appeal to the Energy and Petroleum Tribunal (regulation 15).

Open access: a separate route for large consumers

The Energy (Electricity Market, Bulk Supply and Open Access) Regulations, 2026 were published in the gazette on 8 May 2026. TL Advocates summarises them as follows. The network service provider must grant open access where the load is at least 1 MVA on the distribution system or 10 MVA on the transmission system. Producers pay wheeling charges (fees for moving power over the grid) to Kenya Power and KETRACO. Direct supply agreements run for one to ten years, and EPRA must approve the price.

For a factory above those thresholds, a direct supply contract with a generator is a separate option from net metering. The 1 MW net-metering cap applies only to net-metered systems. pv magazine reports a second point. Commercial and industrial customers who want to use more than that limit themselves must use other routes. These are embedded-generation or open-access arrangements.

Kenya solar market snapshot

EPRA’s June 2025 statistics report puts Kenya’s installed solar capacity at 514.1 MW. That is 210.3 MW of utility-scale plants, 300.5 MW of captive plants and the balance off-grid. Total installed capacity across all fuels was 3,840.8 MW, of which captive plants made up 603.8 MW. EPRA says solar PV is the largest source of captive capacity at 49.76%. It reports that captive solar PV grew by 71.3 MW in the year, from 229.2 MW to 300.5 MW.

Captive capacity is power plants that commercial or industrial consumers own and use for themselves. That is the segment where net metering, a captive system without export, and open access compete.

Documents to prepare before applying

Use the utility’s required forms and qualified reviewers for the project.

Off-grid support is a separate programme

The Ministry of Energy describes KOSAP as an electricity and clean-cooking access programme for underserved areas. KOSAP is not a grant for every solar customer. Check its parts and eligibility directly. Add support to a project budget only after an award or confirmed eligibility.

Turn the requirements into a design brief

Create a requirements register before you promise a price or savings. For each requirement, record its source, the date checked, the person responsible and the evidence needed to close it. Compare the approved connection arrangement with the proposed equipment and the expected load profile.

The commercial system design guide can help with layout and documentation planning. The EPRA solar contractor registration guide walks through licensing for a contracting business. To model scenarios, look at the inputs and reports in SurgePV’s generation and financial workflow. Software supports the design and documentation. Approval comes from the utility, EPRA and the responsible professional. Net-metering rules in India, for comparison, are covered in the India net-metering regulations guide.

Frequently asked questions

What are Kenya’s solar regulations in 2026?

EPRA runs installer licensing under its solar PV worker and contractor classes. The Energy (Net-Metering) Regulations, 2024 (Legal Notice 104) govern grid export. They cap domestic systems at 4 kW single-phase or 10 kW three-phase. They cap commercial and industrial systems at 1 MW and their 12-month maximum demand. Large consumers can also buy directly from generators. This falls under the Energy (Electricity Market, Bulk Supply and Open Access) Regulations, 2026, gazetted on 8 May 2026.

How does net metering work in Kenya?

A consumer applies to Kenya Power on Form 001. Systems above 10 kW need a feasibility study from a registered engineer. Once approved, the consumer signs a net-metering system agreement. A smart bi-directional meter records imports and exports. Each exported unit earns a credit of 50%. Surplus credit carries into the next billing period. Unused credit is forfeited at the end of the licensee’s financial year.

Does an EPRA licence automatically approve a KPLC connection?

No. The licence covers who may do the work. Under regulation 7(1) nobody may run a net-metering system without a net-metering system agreement with the licensee. So the utility approval is a separate step.

How long does KPLC take to approve a net-metering application?

Regulation 8(2) says the licensee must tell the consumer its decision within sixty days of the date of application. After approval, the consumer signs the agreement and pays the non-refundable deposit and fees. The consumer must then install and commission the meter within six months. If not, the application is deemed withdrawn.

Do net-metering credits expire in Kenya?

Yes. Under regulation 10(6), surplus credit carries forward to the next billing period. Any unused credit is forfeited at the end of the licensee’s financial year. A consumer who ends the agreement also loses remaining credit. The exception is credit that passes to a new owner or occupier under an assignment.

Do I need a licence to install solar panels in Kenya?

Yes. EPRA licenses solar PV workers in classes T1, T2 and T3. It licenses contractors, vendors, makers and importers in separate classes. Under regulation 9(1) of the net-metering rules, an authorised person must install a net-metering system and connect it to the grid.

What should an installer check before quoting?

Check five things. These are the customer’s supply details, the proposed export arrangement, and the licence scope. The other two are the site requirements and the utility’s current application instructions.