Public Outcry as KPLC Denies Customers Details on Pre-paid Electricity Bills.

• • In the past, the power supplier had been providing details on payment of value-added tax, Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) levy, inflation adjustment, water regulator fees as well as foreign exchange and fuel adjustment surcharges, unlike now.

The removal of pre-paid customers’ electricity bills on Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC’s) UI has sparked off a public outcry on denial of customers’ rights to countercheck their balance before making any payments.

KPLC now messages millions of its consumers on prepaid billing systems on costs, units purchased, and monthly variable charges on fuel, foreign exchange, and adjustment expenses.

In the past, the power supplier had been providing details on payment of value-added tax, Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) levy, inflation adjustment, water regulator fees as well as foreign exchange and fuel adjustment surcharges, unlike now.

The new payment method however does not also reveal how much consumers will be paying to fund EPRA. 

Also Read: – KPLC’S FUTURE EXISTENCE THREATENED BY SOLAR COMPANIES IN KENYA.

This has made it difficult for its users to establish whether the unit prices for various items like tax, regulatory levies, and other surcharges marches with the data published monthly in the Kenya Gazette EPRA.

Kenya Power was recently on the spot for giving preference to expensive electricity over cheaper options setting up consumers for higher electricity prices.

The data by EPRA on September 2020 further disclosed that KPLC had picked the most expensive power in more than a year while reserving the lowest slot for the cheaper geothermal power.

As a result, consumers have been forced to pay a higher fuel cost influenced by the share of electricity from diesel generators — of Ksh. 2.6 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), up from the Sh2.4 in May 2020.

Without other relevant details on the charges, however, consumers are unable to understand how the increased power cost on the national grid is affecting electricity prices.