Electricity customers will enjoy up to a 13.7 percent reduction in the cost of power this month, following the strengthening of the Kenya Shilling and a reduction in the cost of fuel that is used to generate electricity.
The fuel cost charge and foreign exchange fluctuation adjustment, which comprise the key variable components of the electricity bill, reduced by 37.3 percent between March 2024 and April 2024, across all customer categories, as gazetted by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA)
Kenya Power in a statement to newsrooms indicated that the fuel cost charge reduced from Sh4.64 in March 2024 to Sh3.26 in April 2024, and from a high of Sh4.93 in January 2024.
On the other hand, the forex adjustment charge reduced from Sh.3.68 in March 2024 to Sh.1.96 in April 2024 and from a high of Sh.6.85 in January 2024.
“We are happy to note that the reduction has given reprieve to our customers and we are optimistic that the prevailing macro-economic environment and the improved hydrology, which enables us to dispatch less thermal power, will sustain the benefit to our customers,” said Kenya Power’s Managing Director and CEO, Dr (Eng) Joseph Siror.
A customer under the Domestic Customer 1 (DC1) tariff band (those consuming less than 30 units per month) using 30 units of electricity will pay Sh629 in April 2024 compared to Sh729 for similar units in March 2024, representing a 13.7 percent reduction.
Similarly, a customer under the Domestic Customer 2 (DC2) tariff (averaging 31-100 units per month) who consumes 60 units will pay Sh1,574 in April 2024 compared to Sh1,773 in March 2024 representing a 11.2 percent reduction.
A customer under the Domestic Customer 3 (DC3) tariff band (averaging more than 100 units per month) who uses 120 units per month will pay Sh3,728 in April 2024 compared to Sh4,127 in March representing a 9.7 percent reduction.
Access to affordable electricity is key to spur the socio-economic development of the country. To this end, Kenya Power is focused on driving economic development through the provision of reliable and sufficient electricity across the country.
As at December 2023, the company had over 9.5 million accounts and had enabled over 76 percent of the country’s population to access the national grid.
By Joseph Ng’ang’a
