Former Kenya Power managing director Ben Chumo on Monday defended the firm against accusations of overcharging customers.
He said the decision to cap electricity costs rests solely with the Energy Regulatory Commission, and "blaming on the company is unfair."
Chumo spoke when he appeared before the Finance and Trade Committee during his vetting for the Salaries and Remuneration Commission chairman's post.
The committee is chaired by Kipkelion East MP Joseph Limo.
"We might want to accuse KPLC for over billing, but
KPLC does not determine tariffs, the power regulator does,"
Chumo said.
"Kenya Power is innocent, it only gives proposals. The commission determines costs independently," he added.
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The former MD came under fire from MPs for claiming the cost of power has reduced from Sh7 per KWh to Sh2.34 per kilowatt hour.
"There would be oscillations, but on the average the cost of power was brought down. The indices were given to us by the commission," he said.
But the MPs would have none of it. They told him the issue of exaggerated power bills had been taken to court.
The lawmakers said the cost of power has been continually rising over the past years.
"In fact, power is one of the most expensive items for Kenya. It is the worst enemy for the Big Four agenda," Limo said.
"Please clarify to us, if you are talking about Sh2.34, currently manufactures are paying above Sh10 per kilowatt hour. So, who are these people who are bringing the average to Sh2.34, I don’t understand," he said.
"We have never had any reductions in the bills we pay. The cost of power is exorbitant, it keeps rising. So, I don’t agree that you reduced the charges," Karachuonyo MP Andrew Adipo said.
He agreed with Chumo that power distribution expanded across the country during his tenure, but it came with a cost.
"Power outages have become the norm. My fridge was destroyed, but I did nothing. I should have sued the firm," he said.
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Baringo Central MP Joshua Kandie also pressed Chumo over exaggerated power bills. He said at one time he paid Sh10,000 for his rural home in Baringo, yet he was not staying there most of the time.
"I go there only on weekends. How can you bill someone Sh10,000 per month for only four weekends?" Kandie asked.
He accused the power generator of opposing plans by other companies to install solar panels because Kenya Power is "frustrating measures to grant them licenses".
The MPs further pressed Chumo to explain how profits shot from Sh6 billion to Sh12 billion if costs had gone down.
"What drives profitability if not these particular charges?" Kitutu Chache MP Jimmy Angwenyi asked.
He also asked if the current model of power generation is the best. Angwenyi said one entity generates power, another one regulates it while another one sells it.
Chumo said the current Kenya Power managers are best placed to respond to the questions, since he was no longer in charge. He left the MD's post in January last year.
He said his remarks before the committee will as an observer based on occurrences at the company during the 32 years he worked at the firm.
"Allow me chairman not to contradict the existing leadership at KPLC because I'm a former CEO. If you made me answers questions for KPLC as if I'm still there, I think I would be unfair to KPLC."
He said during his tenure, low voltage mileage increased from 49,000km to 62,000km with 81 extra substations.
Chumo said electricity
quality is measured by the amount of outages reported per 1,000 customers within a given timeline.
"We were able to lower the incidences from nine per 1,000 customers to four per 1,000 customers."
Chumo said this was a demonstration of enhanced reliability.
On the structure of the company, Chumo said it is one of the best in the world.
He said the Ministry of Energy offers the policy guidelines and oversights the entire sector.
Chumo said players such as KenGen, Ketraco, Wind Generation Plant in Lake Turkana and the Rural Electrification Authority and Kenya Power are regulated by the ERC.