Influence of project institutional based factors on the Implementation of rural electrification and renewable Energy corporation projects in Nakuru county, Kenya

Abstract

Significant obstacles stand in the way of Kenya's rural electrification initiative, such as poor infrastructure, the shortage of finance, and logistical hurdles in reaching remote areas. These obstacles make it more difficult to provide rural populations with effective and sustainable energy options. This study looked at how project institutional elements affected the implementation of rural electrification and renewable energy projects in Kenya's Nakuru County. Financial management, stakeholder participation, organisational monitoring and evaluation, and project communication were the four main goals of the study. Stakeholder, program evaluation, and communication theories served as its pillars. Field officers, REREC engineers, Ministry of Energy employees, and subcontracted engineers in the Rift Valley Region were asked to complete closed-ended questionnaires as part of a descriptive survey design. With input from thesis supervisors improving instrument content and face validity, a pilot study with REREC officials from nearby Kericho County was carried out to guarantee research validity and dependability. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, and quantitative data were examined using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS software. The association between institutional characteristics and the successful execution of renewable energy and rural electrification projects was ascertained through the use of multiple regression analysis. The study concluded that key factors like communication, stakeholder participation, monitoring, and financial management significantly influenced project implementation. The inferential statistics revealed significant positive correlations between project implementation and key factors: project communication (r = 0.632), stakeholder participation (r = 0.663), monitoring and evaluation (r = 0.569), and financial management (r = 0.721). Regression analysis showed that these predictors collectively explained 51.4% of the variance in project implementation. The regression coefficients indicated that financial management had the strongest impact, followed by project communication. The ANOVA results confirmed the statistical significance of the model (F = 127.132, p < 0.01). Research recommended enhancing community involvement through comprehensive stakeholder engagement and regular satisfaction surveys, fostering participative decision-making, improving communication on risks and environmental impacts, and strengthening financial management practices with better expenditure tracking and frequent audits.