Kenya Power says that four of its officers were arrested by the Nairobi County Government and others injured during a scuffle on Monday, February 24, 2025, over a Ksh3 billion electricity debt.
In a statement on Monday, February 24, 2025, Kenya Power said County officials accompanied by armed National Police officers stormed its headquarters at Stima Plaza and denied access to both customers and members of staff.
The County officers dumped a truckload of garbage at the main entrance of Stima Plaza and parked two other trucks filled with waste, effectively blocking three other entrances to the building.
“In addition, the officers clamped and towed 10 Kenya Power vehicles, as well as personal vehicles belonging to customers and staff that were parked in public parking spaces around Stima Plaza and Electricity House in Nairobi, despite having paid for the day’s parking fees to the County. The officers also harassed and arrested several of our employees, resulting in injuries to some of them,” Kenya Power stated.
According to the utility firm, the Nairobi City County Government has an outstanding debt owed to Kenya Power, which has accumulated over the years and currently stands at Ksh3 billion.
“Worryingly, the debt has increased by Ksh1.3 billion in the last two years. We have consistently engaged the County Government on multiple occasions to resolve this matter and ensure the settlement of both the outstanding debt and current bills. One of the most recent discussions took place at Stima Plaza in December 2024, where Nairobi City County Governor Johnson Sakaja, accompanied by members of the County Executive Committee, met with Kenya Power’s leadership. During the meeting, the Governor committed that the County Government will be paying Ksh60 million in respect to the old debt and additional Ksh50 million as payment for the current bill, every month,” Kenya Power stated.
The power distribution company says in January 2025, the county paid Ksh36 million, which was significantly below the expected Ksh330 million required to cover the bills for November 2024, December 2024, and January 2025.
“On 20th January 2025, we issued a letter reminding the County Government to honour its commitment and settle the outstanding balance due as of that date. Despite multiple follow-ups through various channels, our efforts to resolve the matter remained unfruitful. After exhausting all avenues to recover the outstanding debt as outlined in the Energy Act 2019, we proceeded to disconnect power supply to several county facilities on 14th February 2025,” the statement added.
“However, we received a letter from the County on Friday, 21st February 2025 informing us that they had initiated a payment of Ksh133 million, pending approval. Based on this commitment, we restored electricity supply to all affected facilities on the same Friday afternoon.”
Kenya Power says on the same day, officers from the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company disconnected the water supply to Stima Plaza, Electricity House Nairobi, Parklands Substation, and Roysambu depot.
“Additionally, they blocked the sewer lines at Stima Plaza and Electricity House. These actions were taken despite the fact that there are no outstanding water bills associated with these premises,” Kenya Power added.
“In view of the above, we wish to state that the Company’s business operations are guided by applicable laws, which also inform its dispute resolution mechanisms with all customers and stakeholders. It is, therefore, regrettable that the Nairobi City County Government chose to engage with us through such unethical, unprofessional, and unlawful actions.”
Kenya Power says that “on the claim that we owe the County money arising from wayleaves charges, we wish to state that Section 223 of the Energy Act, 2019 expressly states that “No public body shall charge levies on public energy infrastructure without the consent of the Cabinet Secretary in writing.”
Francis Muli
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