Kenya Power has ceased providing consumers with specific information about particular pass-through expenses, so Kenyans will no longer receive a full breakdown of their electricity bills. When one purchases power through Kenya Power's prepaid system through text message, the company has been providing a thorough explanation of the pass-through charges.
The SMS would display the customer's total expenditure, the units received, the percentage of the total spent on actual energy purchases, as well as other expenditures like value added tax (VAT), fuel cost charges, and foreign exchange charges.
The Rural Electrification Programme Charge, Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) Charge, Water Resources Management Authority Charge, and Inflation Adjustment Charge were also included in the breakdown of prices. But, Kenya Power no longer sends consumers this thorough analysis. The utility now simply displays to consumers under "other charges" the total amount spent, the number of units received, a token amount, and the total of all pass-through fees.
This occurs at a time when Kenyans are upset with the utility on social media due to high electricity prices, particularly due to the significant pass-through charges.
According to the business, the adjustment followed a study in which participants expressed a desire for a less thorough analysis of their electricity bills.
According to Kenya Power, the adjustment was implemented as a result of multiple interactions with the general public, including a recent poll in which our consumers requested a shorter explanation of their electricity bills. "From now on, we won't include all of the cost components in the SMS. Consumers can dial *977# to acquire more information about their bills.
According to Epra data, hydropower generation fell drastically in February, from 184.68 million units in January to 112.7 million units. This is the fifth month in a row that the amount of electricity produced by hydroelectric dams has decreased. However, some customers have perceived malice in the shift and want the utility to revert to providing a thorough analysis of the cost components of the electricity bill.
Due to a severe drought that limited hydropower production and forced increased use of expensive thermal power when fuel costs remained high, electricity prices have grown dramatically.
As a result, the cost of electricity for lifeline customers has increased from Sh20 last month to Sh22 this month.
The increased cost of electricity is a further setback for consumers who are already feeling the effects of rising inflation. After slowing for three consecutive months to reach 9 percent in January, the inflation rate increased to 9.2 percent in February.
Kenya's second-largest source of energy is hydro, behind geothermal. In the fiscal year that ended in June 2022, Kenya Power purchased hydropower for 26.46% of its electrical needs.
Epra this week hiked the fuel cost price to Sh8.3 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) up from Sh6.59 per unit last month. Since June 2012, the fuel energy component has increased at its highest rate.
Food products had a significant impact on the high inflation during that month, according to the Consumer Price Index from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. According to the Purchasing Managers Index from Stanbic Bank, the high inflation had a heavy toll on businesses, which saw a decline in demand for products and services for the first time in six months.
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