Socio-economic Analysis and Electricity Access in Kitui County Rural Area: Does Poverty Matter?

Abstract

Electricity access remains a major development concern in rural Kenya because it shapes household welfare, education, health, enterprise activity, security, and the ability of households to move into more productive livelihoods. This manuscript examined socio-economic determinants of electricity access in rural Kitui County, Kenya, and tested whether poverty mediates the relationships between household access to credit, household expenditure, household living conditions, and electricity access. The study was guided by four objectives: to determine the effect of household access to credit on electricity access, to establish the effect of household expenditure on electricity access, to examine the effect of household living conditions on electricity access, and to assess whether poverty matters as a mediating mechanism. The study adopted an explanatory cross-sectional design and used primary data collected from rural households through structured questionnaires. Of the 400 targeted respondents, 380 usable questionnaires were returned, representing a 95.0% response rate. Reliability results showed that all constructs were internally consistent, with Cronbach’s alpha values ranging from 0.842 to 0.876. Multiple regression results showed that household access to credit, household expenditure and household living conditions significantly influenced electricity access. PROCESS Model 4 mediation results showed that poverty significantly mediated the relationship between household access to credit and electricity access (indirect effect = -0.0049; 95% BootCI [-0.0080, -0.0016]) and the relationship between household living conditions and electricity access (indirect effect = -0.0082; 95% BootCI [-0.0149, -0.0017]), but did not significantly mediate the relationship between household expenditure and electricity access (indirect effect = -0.0043; 95% BootCI [-0.0106, 0.0010]). The study concludes that poverty matters selectively: it suppresses the benefits of credit access and better living conditions, while expenditure affects electricity access mainly through a direct affordability pathway. The study recommends energy-specific credit products, poverty-sensitive connection subsidies, housing-readiness support, and integrated rural electrification planning that combines infrastructure expansion with household welfare strengthening.