When the lights go out in Kenya’s counties, it’s not always due to a technical fault, it’s often the result of a deeper, more entrenched problem: a tug-of-war between county governments and the national utility provider, Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC).

Across the country, governors are sounding the alarm. Hospitals are plunged into darkness, water pumps grind to a halt, and street lights flicker out not from poor infrastructure, but because of unpaid electricity bills and unresolved disputes with KPLC. At the heart of the matter is a broader struggle over roles, resources, and responsibility in a devolved system of government.

The issue stretches back to the era before devolution. Many counties inherited electricity debts from the national government. Though the expectation was that the national treasury would settle these legacy obligations, some counties are still being bill