The cost of electricity in the country is set to rise due to an imminent dry season that is expected to hit the country, the Kenya Meteorological Department has warned.
This even as Kenyan households and businesses failed to experience a 15 percent drop in electricity cost as promised by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The high cost of electricity has been blamed on weather changes, the range of weather conditions that affect both wind and solar power generation as well as electricity demands has contributed to increasing high cost of electricity in the country.
In his address during the Jamhuri Day celebrations on December 12, President Kenyatta said his power reduction plan was still on course when he pledged that energy consumption costs would be implemented in two phases of 12 percent each.
The head of state revealed that 15 percent would be achieved by the end of December with the other 15 percent effected during the first three months of 2022.
The Ministry of Energy also argues that the cost of electricity might rise as the current drought in most parts of the country has affected the output of hydro plants like the seven forks dam on Tana River, Sondu Miriu in Western Kenya and Turkwel George in the northwestern part of the country.
The rise in cost of electricity has also been linked to variable costs such as 16 percent Value Added Tax, fuel cost charge that reflects compensation for expensive diesel plants, foreign exchange charge and five percent levy for rural electrification.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) is required to gazette the reduction in power bills, which should be implemented by Kenya Power, the near-monopoly electricity distributor.
Meanwhile, a section of Kenyans have aired their concerns on high electricity bills calling on stakeholders in the energy sector to see to it that consumer electricity tariffs are cut as promised by the President.
