The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said homes and business are 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.
Kenya’s monthly power consumption has averaged 970 million units in recent months, meaning consumers will enjoy refunds of Sh1.2 billion that will be deducted from their September bills.
This will offer relief to the middle class that saw power costs rise up to 52.8 per cent when a new billing structure that took effect on August 1 for prepaid users and July 1 for those of post-paid meters.
Electricity consumers will this month be refunded Sh1.2 billion following a review of foreign exchange in power bills, easing the pain on homes that endured the rise in tariffs of up to 52.8 per cent in August.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said homes and business are 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.
Kenya’s monthly power consumption has averaged 970 million units in recent months, meaning consumers will enjoy refunds of Sh1.2 billion that will be deducted from their September bills.
This will offer relief to the middle class that saw power costs rise up to 52.8 per cent when a new billing structure that took effect on August 1 for prepaid users and July 1 for those of post-paid meters.
“Notice is given that all prices for electrical energy…will be liable to a foreign exchange fluctuation adjustment of minus 131 Kenya cents per kWh for all meter readings to be taken in September,” said ERC director-general Pavel Oimeke in a Friday Kenya Gazette notice.
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 ERC said its fuel surcharge — which is influenced by the amount power from diesel-powered generators injected into the grid — will remain unchanged at Sh2.50.
The refund will further ease pressure on the inflation rate that dropped to 4.04 per cent last month, down from 4.35 the previous month.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels carry an 18.30 per cent weighting in the basket of goods used to measure inflation.
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 50 kWh 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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