Kenyans are finally beginning to feel the impact of the strengthening Kenyan shilling against the dollar as electricity costs decrease.
Kenya Power announced yesterday that the drop in electricity costs is attributed to the strengthening of the local currency and a reduction in fuel costs used for electricity generation.
“The fuel cost charge and foreign exchange fluctuation adjustment, which comprise the key variable components of the electricity bill, reduced by 37.3 per cent between March 2024 and April 2024, across all customer categories, as gazetted by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA),” the national power distributor said in a statement.
In March 2024, the fuel cost charge decreased from Kes.4.64 to Kes.3.26, and from a peak of Kes.4.93 in January 2024. Concurrently, the forex adjustment charge decreased from Kes.3.68 in March 2024 to Kes.1.96 in April 2024, and from a high of Kes.6.85 in January 2024.
“We are happy to note that the reduction has given reprieve to our customers and we are optimistic that the prevailing macro-economic environment and the improved hydrology, which enables us to dispatch less thermal power, will sustain the benefit to our customers,” said Kenya Power’s Managing Director & CEO, Dr. (Eng.) Joseph Siror.
This means that customers under the Domestic Customer 1 (DC1) tariff band, consuming less than 30 units per month, will enjoy a 13.7 percent reduction. Their payment will decrease from Kes.729 in March 2024 to Kes.629 for similar units in April 2024.
For customers under the Domestic Customer 2 (DC2) tariff, averaging 31-100 units per month, a consumer using 60 units will pay Kes.1,574 in April 2024, down from Kes.1,773 in March 2024, representing an 11.2 percent reduction.
Similarly, customers under the Domestic Customer 3 (DC3) tariff band, consuming more than 100 units per month, will see a 9.7 percent reduction. For instance, a customer using 120 units will pay Kes.3,728 in April 2024 compared to Kes.4,127 in March 2024.
