Brighter days ahead with promises of cheap electricity tariffs
What you need to know:
- Deputy President William Ruto set the pace last weekend when he said electricity prices would go down by about 20 per cent beginning in September. “We expect customers’ bills to reflect this by end of September because we are adding more power to the national grid,” said Mr Ruto.
- But Mr Ng’ang’a said inflation and foreign exchange are influenced by factors beyond the control of the energy sector. He added that the two do not affect electricity prices fundamentally.
Kenyans will enjoy cheaper electricity from next month, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has confirmed.
ERC director of electricity Joseph Ng’ang’a said the commission is in talks with Kenya Power to agree on the margin of reduction.
“In principle, electricity prices will soon come down,” he told Sunday Nation last week.
Towards the end of July, KenGen injected 140MW from two of its geothermal power units in Olkaria. The remaining unit, with a similar capacity, will be commissioned before the end of the year.
Mr Ng’ang’a said the additional 280MW will mean that the country’s reliance on diesel for electricity generation will be reduced; the fuel charge usually surpasses usage charge.
“Of course, there are cost implications to Kenya Power and KenGen, so we are discussing to determine the margin by which cost of electricity will come down. That should happen in not more than a week,” d Mr Ng’ang’a said.
But he would not say byhow much the cost of electricity would go down.
PLAYING POLITICS
Deputy President William Ruto set the pace last weekend when he said electricity prices would go down by about 20 per cent beginning in September. “We expect customers’ bills to reflect this by end of September because we are adding more power to the national grid,” said Mr Ruto.
The DP faced intense criticism from Kenyans who accused him of playing politics. Two weeks ago, Kenya Power did an upward inflation adjustment by 18 cents per unit of electricity consumed for the month of July. The review was contained in a Kenya Gazette notice and will see consumers pay 48 cents per unit over the next six months up from 30 cents per unit.
But Mr Ng’ang’a said inflation and foreign exchange are influenced by factors beyond the control of the energy sector. He added that the two do not affect electricity prices fundamentally.
“We are not reviewing tariffs; we are spending less on fuel for electricity generation with the advent of renewable energy,” he said.
The Geothermal Development Company (GDC) drilled the steam wells that will be used to generate the 280MW at Olkaria. GDC will sell the steam to KenGen as fuel, which will be used for the generation. GDC has 59 wells in the Olkaria fields that can produce 409MW.
