The reported inflation was initially brought to light by the Business Daily newspaper on Monday. This revelation stems from an Auditor General’s report, which follows a comprehensive forensic examination of the nation’s electricity generation, transmission, and distributing systems.
As indicated in the report, the utility company has been imposing excessive charges on customers, amounting to as much as 20 percent, for electricity they haven’t actually conusmed. interestingly, these additional fees cannot be identified within the company’s billing system.
In a statement released on the Tuesday, Kenya Power refuted the accusations and labeled the newspaper’s article as deceptive and lacking in factual accuracy.
The company clarified that its electricity billing process relies on calculating charges according to customer consumption, which is determined by the variance between the current meter reading and the reading from the previous month.
“The approved based tariffs, levies and taxes are then applied to the consumption to compute the customers’ monthly bill,” said the utility.
The report highlighted apprehension regarding the incorrect assessment of the system losses, which were attributed to the utilization of obsolete stufy findings, incomplete simulations, and mathematical inaccuracies. in response, Kenya power mentioned that certain system losses are factored into the tariff structured
“Part of power system losses are inevitable during transmission and distribution of power; therefore, the regulator sets as a threshold for the allowable system losses that is factored in the tariff,” said the company.
Kenya Power communicated that the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has provided authorization for system losses to extend up to a maximum cap of 18.5% throughout the current fiscal year. Moreover, the company emphasized that it shoulders the cost to system losses that surpass the officially sectioned limit.
“Each month, the regulator checks and verifies that Kenya Power charges customers based on the approved rates,” the company said
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Kenya Power communicated that the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has provided authorization for system losses to extend up to a maximum cap of 18.5% throughout the current fiscal year. Moreover, the company emphasized that it shoulders the costs linked to system losses that surpass the officially sanctioned limit.
“Each month, the regulator checks and verifies that Kenya Power charges customers based on the approved rates,” the company said.
The report additionally alleged that Kenya Power documented a system loss of 23.98% during the period of 2020/2021, surpassing the authorized loss percentage of 19%. Similarly, in the year 2021/2022, the system loss was reported at 22.44%, exceeding the approved efficiency loss rate of 19%.
Furthermore, the utility company refuted claims that out of the 96 generation plants that provide it with power, only 38 of them were equipped with backup meters, also referred to as check meters
The company reiterated that it maintains a network of one hundred delivery points sourced from fifty-eight power suppliers through which it procures electricity. It emphasized that all these points have been confirmed to possess both primary and check meters.
