The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has allowed Kenya Power to increase token prices to enable the power company recover from losses made.
Kenya Power said it made losses of up to Ksh6.5 billion for a period of three months after President William Ruto made a decision to extend the 15 per cent tariff cuts.
Further, the power company stated in its annual report signed on October 26, that the three-month extension followed a move by former President Uhuru Kenyatta to cushion Kenyans from the high cost of living.
However, Kenya power indicated that the Uhuru Kenyatta administration issued compensations to the company to ensure that they were not making losses.
On the flip side, Ruto’s administration failed to issue any form of compensation despite continuing to order the power company to issue reliefs to Kenyans leaving the company with huge losses.
“Unlike the preceding 12 months period of reduction for which interventions to cover the deficit had been provided, there was no intervention for the extended period,” the report read in part.
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How Kenya Power will Increase Token Prices
At the same time, the power company failed to indicate when the deduction will begin and for how long Kenyans will have to bear the cost of the high-power prices.
“This amount has now been confirmed by EPRA and is scheduled to be recovered through pass-through mechanisms,” added the report.
However, the price of tokens had increased to Ksh33.10 for every unit compared to the price of the same unit in December which was Ksh26.29.
Notably, the company also began withholding some of the information on the deductions made after token purchases earlier in the year.
Also Read: Kenya Power Gives Way Forward After Token Hitch
At the moment, the confirmation of purchase message includes the tokens code, date of purchase, units received, money used on the tokens and money spent on other costs.
Ruto Defends Removal of Electricity Subsidy
Earlier on January 4, during a joint media interview at State House, President William Ruto stated that his administration removed the power subsidy because it was unsustainable.
“Power subsidies were politically motivated to make Kenyans vote a certain way in the August 9, 2022, presidential election.
“There was no economic sense in it. Some Ksh25 billion was being spent on fuel and power subsidies monthly. We did not have the money to cater for the subsidies, we were borrowing it locally or externally,” he stated.
Reportedly, the electricity subsidy was among the many subsidies that were removed by government as conditions given by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to continue support plans.