More pain as Kenya Power hikes fees for replacing, retrofitting meters
Kenya Power has massively hiked the cost of replacing electricity meters and retrofitting post-paid meters to pre-paid meters by up to nearly fourfold in a move likely to hit the pockets of consumers hard.
In a letter from the utility company’s General Manager, Commercial Services and Sales Rosemary Oduor to Regional Managers, it said the move is aimed at ensuring the fees are in tandem with meter costs and associated labour and transport costs.
Under the revised schedule, the cost of replacing a single phase metre will rise from Ksh 3,300 to Ksh 15,000 while that for a three phase meter will now cost Ksh 25,000 up from Ksh 12,000.
On the other hand, overhead retrofitting of a single phase meter from postpaid to prepaid will go up from Ksh 6,500 to Ksh 21,000 while central metering retrofitting will cost Ksh 20,000, an increase from the current Ksh 6,000.
Three phase overhead and central metering retrofitting will now cost Ksh 45,000 and Ksh 40,000 up from Ksh 20,000 and Ksh 15,000 respectively.
Odour, however, said already quoted cases will continue at the old rates.
However, the increase has generated heated reactions online with many Kenyans saying they are unaffordable.
The increase comes barely a day after Kenya Power’s Managing Director and CEO, Joseph Siror, said consumers are now enjoying cheaper rates due to the strengthening of the Kenya shilling against the US dollar.
This, he said, has led to lowering of forex and fuel costs, which are heavily dependent on the prevailing dollar exchange rate.
“This has added to the gains from the decline in the base energy cost following a review of the electricity tariff in April 2023, which put in place a three-year tariff that provides for a lower cost per unit, starting in July of each of the three years,” the MD said.
According to Siror, the base tariff has declined from Ksh 19.04 per unit in 2023 to the current Ksh 17.94.
