Consumers look set to enjoy a relief on electricity bills on the increased generation of hydro-power and decommissioning of three thermal plants.
Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir said that heavy rains have significantly increased water levels in the Seven Folks dams, paving the way for increased generation of hydropower which is cheaper than thermal.
Three power purchase deals that Kenya Power had signed with Kipevu 1 which is owned by KenGen, Tsavo Thermal and Iberafrica that lapsed will not be renewed, with the country betting on increased hydro-generation to plug the gap.
Power bills have increased significantly in recent months due to a rise in the fuel cost charge (FCC) —the surcharge that Kenya Power uses to compensate thermal power plants.
“Due to the rains, our dams from Kiambere to Masinga are getting full. We will dispatch more power that will be cheaper,” Mr Chirchir said.
Generation from the country’s dams dipped 23.28 percent to 2,569.18 Gigawatt-hours (GWh) in the year ended June, from 3,348.71 GWh last year.
The drop was attributed to a ravaging drought that hit the country from last year, forcing Kenya to turn to increased use of power from geothermal and wind plants besides imports from Ethiopia.
“We should see a sustained drop in bills going forward mainly due to a fall in the pass-through costs, in this case, the fuel cost charge," Mr Chirchir said.
Kenya Power’s purchase deals with Iberafrica and Kipevu 1 expired mid this year while that with Tsavo lapsed in 2021. The three plants had a combined capacity of 201 megawatts (MW).
Electricity bills have marginally dropped over the months with Sh500 fetching 15.1 kilowatt-hours (kWh) last month compared to 14.9 kWh in June.
