Mwanahabari Reporter
Kenyan households may soon have to dig deeper into their pockets after it emerged that Kenya Power intends to increase electricity prices by 78% from April.
Kenya Power wants to withdraw the monthly subsidy that cushions poor Kenyans from high electricity fees.
Kenya Power is seeking clearance from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).
This will be the first upward review of electricity prices since 2018.
Kenya Power intends to increase the cost of a unit of power for the usage of less than 30 kilowatts per month to Sh28.01 a unit, from the current Sh20.70.
Kenyans consuming 50-kilowatt hours (kWh) a month will pay Sh36.92 a unit from the current Sh20.70.
These are homes likely with no plugged gadgets like fridges, TV, cookers, microwaves and electric heaters, key drivers of power use.
If passed, families consuming 50 units per month will have to pay Sh1,846 from Sh1.035. Homes and businesses consuming 100 units will pay Sh3,692, up from Sh2,638.
According to Kenya Power, Kenyans in the middle class have been enjoying the subsidy set for only poor Kenyans.
President William RUTO has said number without number that he does not support subsidies – something that saw him remove the same of cooking flour.