On Friday, March 8, the government gazetted the Energy Systems Operations Regulations 2023, allowing the participation of private entities in the generation and distribution of electricity to Kenyans.
According to the Energy Petroleum and Regulatory Authority (EPRA), a license issued for one to play the role of a systems operator will be valid for 20 years.
Even so, EPRA similarly outlined a list of penalties for private entities that fail to adhere to the regulations set by the government for the generation and supply of power.
Under the offences and penalties section of the Energy Act, a private supplier who fails to submit their outage plans as per the provisions of the grid code will face a fine of Ksh100,000.
According to the Ministry of Energy, the supplier will pay the amount for each day the company fails to submit the power outage plans.
The ministry further noted that submitting false or inaccurate outage plans by a supplier to the system operator will attract a fine of Ksh10 million.
Similarly, the offence of submitting inaccurate outage plans may lead to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or even both fine and imprisonment.
"Preventing an officer or duly notified agent of the Authority during working hours, from entering into and inspecting any premises where a licensed activity is taking place or suspected to be taking place will attract a penalty of Ksh50,000 for every incident," the Ministry of Energy stated.
"The payment of a fine shall not indemnify a licensee or user from any obligations to compensate for system or financial losses resulting from the breach."
After the Energy Act was gazetted, the government introduced new measures that will allow customers to buy power directly from private power producers for the next three years.
The new regulations will cover various aspects including generation, importation, exportation, transmission, distribution, and retail supply.
According to EPRA, the new energy regulations were crafted in response to independent power producers' pleas for access to power transmission and distribution.
