NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenyan households and businesses have seen a steady decline in electricity costs over the past year, thanks to a strengthening shilling, Kenya Power has said.
Speaking at a meeting with the Kenya Editors Guild on Tuesday, Kenya Power Managing Director and CEO Joseph Siror attributed the drop in power costs to the local currency’s gains against the US dollar.
He explained that a stronger shilling has helped lower pass-through costs, particularly forex and fuel charges, which are heavily influenced by exchange rates.
“This has added to the gains from the decline in the base energy cost following a review of the electricity tariff in April 2023,” Siror said. “The three-year tariff plan provides for a lower cost per unit, starting in July of each year.”
According to Kenya Power, the base tariff has fallen from Sh19.04 per unit in 2023 to Sh17.94 currently, offering some relief to consumers grappling with high living costs.
However, Siror warned that a proposal to introduce wayleave charges on power infrastructure could reverse these gains and push electricity costs up by as much as 30%.
Kenya Power operates an extensive 319,000-kilometre power network across the country.
If a proposed Sh200 per meter wayleave charge is imposed on these power lines, the company would incur an additional Sh63.8 billion annually, a cost likely to be passed on to consumers.
“This would significantly impact retail tariffs,” Siror cautioned. “The overall effect is that electricity could become unaffordable for most Kenyans.”
He also pointed to Section 223 of the Energy Act 2019, which bars public entities from imposing levies on energy infrastructure without regulatory approval, raising questions about the legality of the proposed charges.
