Kenya power will now be forced to compensate consumers for financial losses and physical injuries due to power outages lasting more than three hours a day.
This is part of proposals in the Energy Bill, 2015, which if signed into law, would compel the power utility to part with millions of shillings in claims paid out for such lengthy disruptions.
The move now cushions manufacturers, commercial building owners, warehouses, farmers and other small businesses like salons and barber shops which have been suffering whenever there are disruptions in supplies.
Such businesses normally incur losses and additional expenses when using back up generators.
Kenya Power will be expected to include the compensation as a waiver on power bills.
The compensation will also be used to offset future electricity bills of a customer while those who suffer physical injuries will be offered paid as determined by the court.
“A licensee shall be liable to compensate a consumer due to power outages or surges… that exceed a cumulative three hours within a 24-hour period,” says the Bill that was unanimously passed by the National Assembly on Thursday.
The provisions were contained in an amendment to the Energy Bill, 2015 moved by Mvita MP Abdukswamad Nassir.
The country suffers from frequent blackouts due to supply shortfalls and an aging infrastructure.
“Where a consumer incurs financial loss, the licensee shall compensate the consumer by incorporating the compensation into the consumer’s bill by way of a subsidy which shall, be an equivalent amount to the loss incurred as presented by the consumer and agreed by the licensee,” reads the Bill that now awaits third reading.
The International Energy Agency (IEA)
last year said that Kenyan households and factories are plunged into darkness for an average of 25 days every year due to blackouts.
Kenyan homes and industries experience more than 600 hours of outages per annum compared to 120 hours or five days per year in South Africa, according to IEA’s report titled Africa Energy Outlook 2014.
Kenya Power is already spending billions of shillings to upgrade its transmission network to deal with frequent blackouts.
Kenya is also planning to add 5,000 megawatts (MW) to the
2, 298 MW being generated currently by 2017.
The proposed law is intended to ensure a faster response by the power company to restore supplies in the event of outages.
The unreliable power supply has also dimmed investor confidence in the country.
Kenya Power had targeted to spend Sh156 billion in the five years to 2018 to expand its electricity distribution network to keep up with growing demand.