Kenyans will have to grapple with a more expensive electricity bill after the latest announcement from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).
In a series of notices dated September 12, the authority announced that the price of monthly electricity would be subject to an extra Ksh4.42 per kWh in the new adjustment in September.
Firstly, Kenyans will be liable for an extra 360 Kenyan cents per kWh for all meter readings due to an increase in the fuel energy cost, calculated by monitoring the fuel energy cost of different power stations.
"Pursuant to Clause 1 of Part III of the Schedule of Tariffs, 2023, notice is given that all prices for electrical energy specified in Part II of the said Schedule will be liable to a fuel energy cost charge of plus 360 Kenya cents per kWh for all meter readings to be taken in September, 2025," the notice read in part.
In addition, the foreign exchange fluctuation adjustments will result in an additional adjustment of 80.67 cents per kWh to the September electricity bill.
"Pursuant to Clause 2 of Part III of the Schedule of Tariffs 2023, notice is given that all prices for electrical energy specified in Part II of the said Schedule will be liable to a foreign exchange fluctuation adjustment of plus 80.67 cents per kWh for all meter readings taken in September 2025," another notice read.
A final adjustment of 1.34 cents per kWh will be made to the September bill to account for an increase in the Water Resource Management Authority (WRMA).
"Pursuant to Clause 5 of Part III of the Schedule of Tariffs 2023, notice is given that all prices for electrical energy specified in Part II (A) of the said Schedule will be liable to a Water Resource Management Authority (WRMA) Levy of plus 1.34 cents per kWh for all meter readings taken in September 2025.
What This Means for Kenyans
The Ksh4.42 per kWh addition means that Kenyans will have to pay a lot more at the end of the month, as this amount will be multiplied by the total number of kWh used in the month to determine how much extra they will pay.
For instance, a household that uses approximately 30kWh per month will pay an additional Ksh132.6 in their September electricity bill.
The change will also result in fewer tokens being awarded to prepaid customers who purchase tokens.
If you purchase tokens today for Ksh 500 and get roughly 25 units, your effective cost per unit is Ksh 20. With the September adjustment, the new effective price per unit will increase to approximately Ksh24.42 under EPRA.
Because of this, your Ksh500 will now only purchase roughly 20.5 units rather than 25, a decrease of about 4.5 units, or nearly 18 per cent. Simply put, for the same price, you will receive a lot less electricity.
