Energy regulator has owned up to notice it issued last month that erroneously indicated electricity consumers were due for a refund of Sh1.2 billion.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on September 13 said homes and business were due for a refund of Sh1.31 per kilowatt hour (kWh) after it used a higher dollar rate to compute the foreign exchange levy last month.
But consumers raised complaints that the refund captured in the gazette notice failed to reflect in the September bills.
The regulator on Friday issued a notice through the Kenya Gazette admitting its error that inflated the refund 100 times.
The notice changed the forex refund to Sh0.013 kWh from the earlier stated of Sh1.13, cutting the refund to Sh12 million.
This failed to offer relief to the middle class that saw power costs rise up to 52.8 per cent on new billing that took effect on August 1 for prepaid users and July 1 for post-paid category.
The forex levy comprises expenses power generators such as KenGen #ticker:KEGN, the independent power producers as well as Kenya Power #ticker:KPLC incur in foreign currency that is passed on to consumers.
This makes the power sector attractive to foreign investors looking to be cushioned from currency risks.
The power cost increase for middle-income earners went against the State’s earlier promise of cutting tariffs across the board.
Poor households that consume less than 10 units of electricity per month and the very rich who use more than 1,500 units enjoyed lower bills under the new tariff structure.
In the new tariff plan, homes that consume 50kWh paid Sh1,063 in August, up from Sh695 in July or 52.8 per cent more, says the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
Consumers of 200 units of power paid Sh4,392 a month, up from Sh4,122 in July, reflecting a 6.6 per cent rise.
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