Kenya Power has raised concerns that the recent drop in electricity costs could be short-lived if a dispute with the Nairobi County Government escalates.
Speaking in Nairobi on Tuesday, March 4, during a meeting with the Kenya Editors Guild, Kenya Power Managing Director Joseph Siror attributed the decline in power prices to the strengthening of the Kenyan shilling against the dollar. He explained that the stronger currency had lowered pass-through costs for consumers.
Siror highlighted that the base tariff had decreased from Ksh19.04 per unit in 2023 to Ksh17.94 per unit in 2024.
“This has added to the gains from the decline in the base energy cost following a review of the electricity tariff in April 2023, which put in place a three-year tariff structure. So far, the base tariff has dropped from Ksh19.04 per unit in 2023 to the current Ksh17.94,” he noted.
However, Siror warned that adding wayleave charges to electricity bills could push power costs up by as much as 30%.
“Kenya Power has over 319,000 kilometers of power lines across all 47 counties. The introduction of wayleaves on power lines will impact retail tariffs. Under the proposal to charge wayleaves on electricity infrastructure at a cost of Ksh200 per meter, which translates into KShs.63.8 billion per year,” he explained.
He stressed that this additional cost would have to be recovered through electricity bills, making power unaffordable for most Kenyans.
“The overall impact is that electricity will become unaffordable for the majority of Kenyans,” Siror cautioned.
