The failure by Kenya Power #ticker:KPLC to submit a tariff review request to the energy regulator after its calculations revealed that it cannot afford a 15 percent cut set off a chain of reactions that embarrassed the President.
The Business Daily has established that various players in the sector have been caught up in a dilemma on how to implement President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Christmas power cut gift to Kenyans without breaking the law.
After a series of meetings and consultations, Kenya Power said it finally submitted the tariff review request to the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) on Thursday outlining what must be done before it can cut electricity prices by 15 percent.
“We have submitted to Epra the required inputs for the electricity cost reduction today (Thursday),” Kenya Power said in an emailed response to the Business Daily. It said that it cannot afford to bear all the costs alone.
“The revenue requirements for the tariff reduction is a sector matter and will not be borne by Kenya Power alone,” the power distribution monopoly said. Sources at Epra, however, said the agency was yet to receive any application from the utility firm in another intrigue surrounding the delays in the power cut promise.
The Epra failed to gazette the electricity price cut, blaming Kenya Power for failure to formally apply for a tariff review. The law requires that Kenya Power first apply to the Epra before the regulator takes action.
The Business Daily has also established that various agencies are now involved in a heated blame game on where the buck stops after failing to implement the directive in December.
As Epra waited for Kenya Power to make the application, the electricity distributor was also waiting for a directive from the sector regulator given the matter was a presidential directive.
The hiccup scuttled President Kenyatta’s promise to cut electricity prices by December 25 that has seen Kenyans continue to face high electricity costs as Kenya Power and the energy regulator haggle over the bureaucracy of implementing the pledge.
President Kenyatta initially promised in August to cut consumer electricity tariffs by 33 percent on the recommendation of a task force but reviewed it downwards to 15 percent, which was also not delivered.
The President on December 12 said homes and businesses will start enjoying a 15 percent dip in the cost of electricity last month to be achieved through reduction of power theft and leakages in Kenya Power’s […]