Kenya Power woes deepen as it faces new fines for irregular power cuts
New draft regulations by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) states that the troubled Kenya Power is expected to face new fines for irregular power cuts to customers.
This comes after Kenya Power announced in their social media platform areas that are scheduled for power interruption.
According to EPRA, should the draft regulations be adopted, Kenya Power is required to notify consumers at least two days prior to the planned interruption.
“Electricity reliability, quality of supply and service regulations, power should be interrupted for planned maintenance purposes and emergency cases only,” stated the regulations.
The utility firm will be obligated to file an assessment of power interruptions with EPRA on a monthly and annual basis.
“…including the average number of items any given customer experiences interruption over a period,” stated the regulator.
It is also required to file the average interruption duration for each customer served during the period under review.
However, the company will be allowed to discontinue power supply without notice in the case of emergency but is required to rectify the situation and advise its customers in a timely manner.
The company will face round off to fines ranging from fines per violation to blanket annual penalties failure to achieve retail supply license guaranteed performance standards.
“The contravention of voltage limits and harmonic distortions of power supply will for instance results in fines of Ksh.1000 for each violation recorded. At the same time, the contravention of reliability indicators on the frequency and duration of interruptions will attract fines of Ksh.20,000 annually,” stated the regulator.
Further, EPRA requires Kenya Power to furnish it with complaints filed by customers on the quality of electricity supplied including property damages incurred, financial losses, bodily injury or loss of life.
