Lawyer Apollo Mboya has taken Kenya Power and the Energy Regulatory Commission to court over the new billing structure which he says discriminates against the poor.
Mboya wants the court to suspend the implementation of retail tariffs pending the hearing of an application he filed under certificate of urgency.
The lawyer says the harmonised tariffs discriminate against a significant majority of domestic consumers while favouring the minority bulk power consumers - manufacturers.
He says the court ought to intervene as middle class households will continue to suffer.
“Article 27 of the Constitution guarantees every person equal protection and equal benefit of the law and that the state shall not discriminate directly or indirectly against any persons” the lawyer notes.
Electricity consumers buying low units of up to 10Kwh now pay less at the expense of anyone whose consumption goes beyond this.
Customers who purchase up to 10 units will be charged Sh12 per unit, meaning they will pay Sh120 in addition to levies of up to Sh25.50, bringing the total to Sh145.50
They had been paying a fixed charge of Sh150 per month before buying each unit at Sh2.50 and Sh60 in levies, bringing the cost of 10Kwh to Sh235.
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Mboya also says that both KPLC and ERC have no constitutional mandate to review the tariffs.
The lawyer has accused the two organisations of trying to circumvent a court order that stopped them from recovering backdated bills amounting to Sh10.1 billion.
The temporary orders were issued by Justice Chacha Mwita following an application by Mboya and the Electricity Consumers Society.
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