Mumias Sugar seeks tariff review

The Mumias Sugar factory. FILE PHOTO | NMG

What you need to know:

  • Mumias Sugar, which currently sells power to the electricity distributor at Sh6.1 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), is seeking to raise it to Sh12.2 per unit in three years.

Sugar miller Mumias #ticker:MSC wants to double the price at which it sells electricity to Kenya Power #ticker:KPLC, a move that would raise the cost of energy from its cane-based plant to match that of solar producers.
The miller, which currently sells power to the electricity distributor at Sh6.1 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), is seeking to raise it to Sh12.2 per unit in three years.

“The company is successfully negotiating an increase in electricity selling price from the current $0.06 (Sh6.1) to $0.12 (Sh12.2) per kilowatt-hour in 2020,” Mumias says in its latest annual report.

At Sh12 per unit, Mumias’ target price will match that of solar power producers and will be second only to thermal generators which currently charge Sh20 per unit.

Geothermal power is currently priced at an average of Sh8 per kWh while hydro is the cheapest at Sh3 per unit.

The higher price is subject to the Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval. The tariff review is part of the company’s four key medium term changes it says are critical if it is to avoid booking further losses in the value of its factories and properties.

PAYE Tax Calculator

Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.