President William Ruto, on Friday, January 27, ordered Kenya Power (KPL) to stop disconnecting homes deemed to have illegally tapped power.
Ruto was speaking in Shauri Moyo, Nairobi, during the groundbreaking ceremony for Affordable Housing Project.
The Head of State rather asked Kenya Power managers to focus on connecting Kenyan homes instead of disconnecting those who tapped electricity illegally.
"We have a problem at Kenya Power. They decided to switch off many homes in Nairobi County.
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"I would like to repeat that Kenya Power and Nairobi County government officials should agree on how to re-connect the homes that were disconnected," Ruto ordered.
According to Ruto, Kenya Power has been inconsiderate in its decision to disconnect homes illegally connected to the national power grid.
Arresting those illegally tapping power, he argued, painted his administration negatively, tainting its reputation.
"How do you penalise a home that uses electricity, yet you haven't asked them to pay for the power they are consuming?" the President asked.
Therefore, Ruto ordered Kenya Power managers to ensure that all homes disconnected in the previous regime were re-connected to the grid.
"Go to every home that connected power illegally, then install the meters appropriately," Ruto ordered Kenyan Power managers.
The Head of State also asked Kenya Power to be mindful of its mandate as a national agency tasked with the mandate of connecting all Kenyans to power.
"It is your responsibility to connect Kenyans to electricity. If you find that a citizen has been connected to the grid by whatever means, don't switch them off -- just install a meter and begin to charge them accordingly," the President ordered.
Kenya Power, on January 25, 2023, announced plans to roll out new tariffs to increase electricity costs.
Kenya Power proposed doubling the electricity charges for users consuming over 30 units monthly in the new tariffs.
