– Kenya Power said it was seeking Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority’s nod to increase unit tariff by 20 %
– Managing Director Bernard Ngugi said the lighting company had an outstanding huge debt that could potentially stall its operations
– The company hogged headlines following allegations of KSh 150 billing fraud involving its senior staff
Kenyans using electricity are likely to be charged more if Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) approves Kenya Power plan to increase tariffs.
The lighting company said it was in talks with the regulator to increase electricity bill per unit by 20 % to turn around its dwindling revenue stream to enable it offset its debts. Kenya Power technicians fixing a power transformer. The company said it would increase charges. Photo: Business Daily. Source: UGC READ ALSO: COVID-19: 544 more test positive, Kenya’s tally jumps to 19,125
Speaking to NTV on Tuesday, July 29, Managing Director Bernard Ngugi said the company was sweating under a huge debt that could potentially stall its operations. "We have outstanding debts that we need to pay, we also took huge loan. The much we are collecting which require us to do certain things demand quite a lot. We are required to do something very strategic," he stated. The MD further said the increment will also cater for the cost of power generation adding that Kenya Power usually pays about 70% of its revenue to Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen). "When you look at what we pay, we pay almost 70% of what we collect to the power generators. Perhaps we are left with about 30% to maintain our lines and other things and that leaves us with a negative every month," he added. Ngugi noted there was need to consider debt restructuring with the company’s financial partners even as it embarked on intensified revenue collection.
In 2019, the company hogged headlines after allegations of KSh 150 billing fraud involving its senior staff following reports of suspicious transactions.
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The multi-billion fraud was exposed by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) which disclosed investigations had been going on since 2014 with undercover detectives. “We had officers posing as customers. Others as employees of Kenya Power. Another group at a […]