The huge debt owed by Nairobi County Governor Mike Sonko's administration has pushed his office to consider negotiation over a number of inconsistencies on the amount required to pay the bills.
In a letter to Kenya Power on Monday, City Hall resolved to talk with the lighting company to try to settle the protracted row over a Ksh1 billion claim in unpaid power bills.
Sonko, in the letter to the KPLC acting Managing Director Jared Othieno, argues that the initial claim by Kenya Power was Ksh950 million but a court decision relieved City Hall after directing that only Ksh540 million was to be paid to the firm.
The governor refutes the KPLC debt records claiming that instead, it is KPLC that owes City Hall Ksh816 Million, of which Ksh748 million is accrued wayleave rates while the other Ksh68 million had not been paid in sub-station rent.
“If we are just trading in, the balance would have been Sh134 million. So far the county has paid you Sh30 million leaving a balance of Sh104 million," the governor stated in the letter.
Wayleave rates are the charges incurred by KPLC to get a statutory right to install its electricity lines and associated equipment on, over or under private land.
KPLC pays wayleave rates so as to get the license to keep the electricity lines on private land and to have access to that land for the purposes of inspecting, maintaining, repairing or removing power infrastructure or equipment.
Sonko argues that if the rates are deducted from the City Hall outstanding bills, it will be KPLC that shall be required to pay his government to a tune of Kshs347 million.
In his letter, the governor says, "There was another way leave claim of Sh451 million which is still pending and if this is deducted from your bill then Kenya power owes NCCG Sh347 million.”
The governor has invited the Power body for a meeting on Thursday, October 4, 2018, to resolve the matter and stop a possible power cut-off.
Kenya Power had, in a letter copied to Energy CS Charles Keter, indicated that the City Hall's outstanding arrears stood at Ksh990,000,000 at the end of September 2018.
