More pain for consumers as power cost set to rise

A Kenya Power employee repairs an electricity line in Nyeri on July 3 2015. [PHOTO KIBATA KIHU/STANDARD]

Power prices are set to go up, yet again, as the country increases dependency on thermal electricity generators following the decline in power generation from the cheap hydro sources.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) announced an increase in the cost associated with fuel used by thermal generators in electricity production, eroding hopes of cheap power.

In their bills for February, power consumers will pay Sh4.51 per unit of electricity consumed, up from Sh4.30 in January. The revision will push the Fuel Cost Charge (FCC) component of the monthly power to its highest since October 2014.

FCC is a cost incurred by the power industry in generating electricity using diesel and is passed to power consumers, reflecting in their monthly bills.

“All prices for electrical energy specified in Part II of the said schedule will be liable to a fuel cost charge of plus 451 cents per Kilowatt hour (kWh) for all meter readings to be taken in February, 2018,” said ERC in a public notice