Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Communications Director Phillip Etale has expressed his displeasure against Kenya Power for tripling his monthly bill.
The politician called out the utility company via his social media pages, noting that his October monthly bill increased to Ksh15,439 from Ksh5,783 in September for the same service.
In a corresponding message, he argued that the increase was excessive. The meter serves his Nairobi home.
"Kenya Power, I am imagining how you guys feel I am feeling. My electricity consumption can’t be this much. This is daylight theft. This time around, I am not boarding," he lamented.
The utility company then responded to his 2:00 a.m. message with a promise to carry out a second reading of his meter.
"Good morning. Kindly send a photo of your meter reading for re-billing," Kenya Power responded nearly three hours later.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Etale revealed that the company was yet to sort out the issue but confirmed that he was waiting for an engineer to visit his home and assess the meter.
The complaint comes weeks after the company revised electricity prices upwards in line with a spike in fuel prices and the weakening of the Kenyan shilling. It has hit Ksh150 against the dollar.
On March 10, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) increased power prices by 3.7 per cent, with the most affected levies being the Fuel Energy Charge (FEC) and the foreign exchange rate fluctuation adjustment (Ferfa).
In total, the changes led to an increase in electricity prices from Ksh27 per unit to Ksh 28.
On October 19, the utility firm also faced technical challenges after experiencing a hitch on the prepaid system that caused delays in the generation of electricity tokens.
At the time, several Kenyans experienced technical issues when buying tokens for several hours.
The company has also intensified its crackdown against vandals of power equipment and transformers, with the latest apprehension of three conducted in Kisii County after a nationwide crackdown.
