KPLC Declared Special Govt Project After Uhuru Directive

Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang'i during a meeting held with Kenya Power officials on Thursday, October 7.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang'i during a meeting held with Kenya Power officials on Thursday, October 7.
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Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i declared Kenya Power, popularly known by its NSE ticker KPLC, a special government project on Thursday, October 7.

Matiang'i issued the directive after a meeting with the KPLC board and thereafter with senior management teams from the utility firm and the Ministry of Energy.

The CS ordered the power giant to immediately suspend ongoing and pending negotiations with independent power producers. 

The power company was directed to review existing agreements in a bid to lower the cost of electricity in the country.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang'i during a meeting held with Kenya Power officials on Thursday, October 7.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang'i during a meeting held with Kenya Power officials on Thursday, October 7.
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The CS directed an inter-ministerial team to be set up to audit and oversight urgent reforms in the company and also see to the implementation of the recommendations by the Task Force.

KPLC was also directed to urgently review existing Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in a bid to lower the cost of electricity.

The Interior CS announced the formation of a multi-agency team comprising of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Financial Reporting Center (FRC), Assets Recovery Authority (ARA) and other investigative agencies.

This team, Matiang'i noted will investigate the alarming system losses, procurements practices, insider trading, conflict of interests and shady transactions involving Kenya Power staff and others.

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday, September 29, received a report that recommended the power distribution firm review all power purchase deals with independent producers.

The government had announced it would move with speed to overhaul KPLC in a bid to reduce the cost of power and tame the ever-growing losses at the parastatal.

Matiang'i said the ministries involved would move with speed to implement President Kenyatta's directives to cushion Kenyans and other industrialists from the high power bills.

"In the coming weeks, we will launch an aggressive program to address the challenges in the energy sector. We are certain that the prices of fuel will not only come down but even the bills and the costs of electricity we are paying will come down," Matiang'i stated.

It was not immediately clear what the new designation would mean for shareholders given that KPLC is publicly listed at the NSE. 

The government has 50.09 per cent holding with a number of corporate entities dominating majority shareholding. As of 2013, former First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta was the company's fourth-largest individual shareholder with 2.2 million shares. 

Kenya Power officials meeting with Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang'i on Thursday, October 7.
Kenya Power officials meeting with Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang'i on Thursday, October 7.
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