No respite in sight for power consumers

Consumers will pay more for electricity if the ongoing rains do not fill the Seven Forks dams complex to required levels.

According to Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC), customers will pay Sh7.90 per unit of electricity as a fuel cost surcharge for November as a result of the rising cost of diesel and fuel oil used for thermal generation.

Fuel cost will rise to Sh7.90 per unit from the previous Sh7.75. The global price of crude oil has shot from $68 in September to about $78 a barrel while Kenya’s output of cheaper hydro power has gone down.

Energy permanent secretary Patrick Nyoike said despite the onset of the short rains, the 40-megawatt Masinga hydro plant is yet to start generating electricity due to poor water inflow from the Mount Kenya catchment area.

“We are not out of the woods. It is better to have expensive power than none. Rationing of electricity has far reaching ramifications on the manufacturing industry and other key sectors of the economy,” he said.

Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) closed Masinga along Tana River in June when the water level fell to 1035.5 metres. It was one and half metres below recommend minimum operating level.

The dam is the main reservoir of the Seven Forks complex on the Tana River. KenGen then started releasing the remaining water in the dam through low level outlets to optmise generation at Kamburu Power Station on the same river.

Steep rise

There are fears that a steep rise in the fuel surcharge on power bills will lead to a steady increase of the cost of goods and services.

KPLC spokesman Migwi Theuri said the fuel cost charge is influenced by the price of petroleum products and amount of fuel used to generate power sold to the national transmission and distribution utility.

“If international prices continue to rise, it will subsequently cause an increase in expenditure on fuel used by generation firms hence an increase in fuel cost charge in customers bills. Money collected from clients is refunded to generators and does not constitute income to KPLC,” he said.

Other components of consumer bills include foreign exchange rates, inflation, taxes and levies. The rains have been erratic in the Mount Kenya and the Aberdares regions that are the main catchment areas of the dams.

Masinga, as the main reservoir of the Seven Fork dams complex, had by Thursday last week filled to one metre above the minimum operating level of 1,037 metres.

The Meteorological Department had forecast that Kenya would receive above normal rainfall during the short rains season. This raised expectations that depleted hydro power dams would be replenished.

Mr Migwi said domestic consumers pay Sh8.10 for a unit of power for 50 units up to a maximum of 1,500 after which the cost rises to Sh18.57.