Kenya: EPRA Denies Report Of Over-billing Electricity Consumers

Kenya’s Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority has denied media reports suggesting that it added illegal electricity levies resulting in the over-billing of power consumers.

A statement issued by Daniel Kiptoo Bagora, the Director-General of EPRA, described the media report as false.

“The authority is mandated by law to balance the interests of the consumers and investors and to ensure the security of power supply and sustainability of the sector,” Mr Bagora said as carried by the Star.

There were reports that EPRA added illegal levies to its monthly fuel surcharge.

The media reports quoted the Auditor General’s report which showed that Kenya Power overcharged consumers by Sh23.17 billion in 2023.

Kenya Power, however, downplayed the findings, insisting that the company was allowed to collect those amounts.

Responding to the issue, EPRA’s Director-Genral, Kiptoo explained that between the last tariff review to the current review effected in April 2023, seven new power plants were commissioned with a total capacity of 502MW.

He named them Olkaria V (158MW), Olkaria I Unit 6 (83MW), Kipeto Wind Power (100MW), Selenkei (40MW), Cedate (40MW), Malindi Solar (40MW), Alten Solar (40MW) and Kianthumbi Small Hydro (0.5MW).

Mr Kiptoo noted that effective April 2023, there was a tariff review for the period 2023/2024, 2024/2025, and 2025/2026, which now included generation costs of the eight plants not included in the previous Base Tariff.

“In effect, there is no over-billing. The approved tariff now includes the costs of power plants commissioned between October 2019 to March 2023,” the EPRA boss said.

The Base Tariff comprises the cost of generation, transmission and distribution that utilities like Kenya Power and Lighting Company, Kenya Electricity Generating Company, Kenya Electricity Transmission Company, Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation, Geothermal Development Company, and Independent Power Producers incur in the provision of the regulated services.

These costs are calculated based on the existing generation contracts, operation and maintenance contracts, and the cost of finance associated with the provision of these services.

The Base Tariff is set at the prevailing exchange rate and a prevailing Consumer Price Index that represents core inflation.

EPRA assured stakeholders that it would ensure that only prudently incurred costs in power generation, transmission, and distribution were recovered from consumers.

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com