Kenya Power on Saturday, December 5, issued a statement to quell disquiet from a number of disgruntled customers who have questioned some of the token charges.
"Hi, please note we have two types of domestic tariff i.e Domestic lifeline (DL) for customers who consume less than 100 units a month charged Ksh15.80 a unit and Domestic ordinary (DO) for customers who consume over 100 units a month charged Ksh22.80," Kenya Power elaborated.
The national power supplier responded to customers who claimed they were receiving differing number of units despite spending a similar amount of money to make the purchase.
Photojournalist Boniface Mwangi was among the hundreds of Kenyans who shared screenshots of their power tokens and highlighted the confusion brought about by the overall drop in total units supplied.
"I've been buying Kenya Power tokens for Ksh 1,500 every month, and I get between 91 and 96 units. I've bought the same today and I've gotten 66 units," Mwangi's message reads in part.
How are electricity bills computed
The numbered items on each bill (including the SMS received upon purchase of tokens) are the components which are computed as per the Approval of Tariffs set by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA)
Fuel Cost Charge
This is the money used for generation of electricity from thermal power plants. It varies monthly depending on the quantity of thermal generation and the cost of fuel.
Inflation Adjustment
Varies according to the domestic and international inflation on cost of supply. It is adjusted after every six months starting from the 1st of January.
Forex Adjustment
The foreign exchange component is related to the fluctuation of hard currencies against the Kenyan Shilling for expenditure denominated in these currencies related to the power sector.
EPRA Levy
Currently, electricity now pay Ksh 4 more per kilowatt after the EPRA increased the fuel cost charge and foreign exchange fluctuation adjustment.
VAT
This is set to go back to 16% starting January 1, 2021, and is applicable to Consumption, Fuel Cost Charge and Forex Adjustment.
WARMA Levy
Its currently set at 0.05 cents per kilowatt hour and is passed to the Water Resource Management Authority (WARMA) for hydro-power generation of 1Megawatt and above.
In the pre-paid token receipt WARMA levy is combined with the EPRA levy.
REP Levy
This is currently set at 5% of the cost of the units consumed and is passed to the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) for implementation of rural electrification projects
Kenyans are expected to experience a hike in electricity bills in the coming year after the various tax cuts implemented to cushion the country from the Covid-19 pandemic come to end in December 31.
The free-falling shilling has also negatively impacted imports, which is also expected to reflect on the forex charge section of power bills.
Kenyans have had to come up with some ingenious ways of saving on electricity usage to ensure bills are manageable.
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