Kenya Power staff at work. Energy officials reckon the country consumes less than half the peak power demand between midnight and 5am. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Counties will now pay Sh4.36 per kilowatt hour (kWh), down from Sh11.25 between 6 pm and 6 am.
The move is meant to boost 24-hour economies in the counties and reduce insecurity.
The cheaper street lighting tariffs comes at a time when Kenya Power is involved in a Sh10 billion project to light up Nairobi including informal settlements.
Governors will save millions of shillings in cheaper off-peak street lighting tariffs, following the introduction of a 61.2 per cent discount.
The move is meant to boost 24-hour economies in the counties and reduce insecurity.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Sunday said counties will now pay Sh4.36 per kilowatt hour (kWh), down from Sh11.25 between 6 pm and 6 am.
ERC director general Joe Nga’ng’a said the cheaper tariffs are aimed at boosting business activity during nightfall in the 47 counties and arrest crime blamed on dark streets.
“We expect the cheaper tariffs to encourage increased lighting of counties and boost their investment profiles,” he said.
Mr Ng’ang’a said that the commission had instructed Kenya Power to apply the new rates with immediate effect. He, however, warned that the discount would not apply outside the timelines.
Energy officials reckon the country consumes less than half the peak power demand between midnight and 5am.
The peak hours begin at 9am, with demand at its highest between 6pm and 9pm when Kenyans return home from work and switch on house lighting, cooking appliances and TVs.
The cheaper street lighting tariffs comes at a time when Kenya Power is involved in a Sh10 billion project to light up Nairobi including informal settlements.
The ERC is also consulting manufactures with a view to rolling out cheaper off-peak electricity tariffs for them.
The off-peak power plan would see industrialists enjoy an undisclosed discount on the current tariffs between 11pm and 5am.
The cost of electricity has been dropping following the injection of 210 megawatts of geothermal power cut the fuel adjustment surcharges levied on bills to a four-year low.
“The overall retail tariff for industrial and domestic consumers have fallen by 27 per cent and 26 per cent respectively between August and December,” said the ERC.
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