Senators are now calling on the government to end Kenya Power's monopoly or institute radical reforms at the company to save Kenyans from the ever-rising cost of electricity.
Speaking during a debate on the report of a House committee, the lawmakers said Kenyans are overburdened by the high cost of electricity due to utility firm's monopoly and poor leadership.
“The fact that the company has been a monopoly has not helped the story. The kind of control they have had over power has made it possible ... to behave as though no one else will enter the energy field or offer power to Kenyans,” nominated Senator Veronica Maina said.
She said the firm has become a source of pain to Kenyans who solely depend on it for power due to abnormal bills and frequent blackouts.
“It has been a disaster and menace to Kenyans. That is a sad story. Out of the irrationality of power bills, many people have lost their upkeep because businesses have been shut down,” she said.
The senators added that poor leadership, which saw the firm commit taxpayers to opaque expensive contracts, especially with Independent Power Producers coupled with incomplete transmission lines, are to blame for the abnormal electricity bills.
“Perhaps apart from Kenya Airways, Kenya Power is the only existing mega monopoly in this country, producing power to every consumer of electricity in every corner of this country,” Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua said.
“Why Kenya Power gets into losses or is unable to produce enough when they are doing it without competition is something one can never understand.”
Nyamira Senator Okong’o Omogeni called for a thorough investigation to establish whether there is fraud in the billing system of the utility firm.
“If we get that there is evidence that leads to some fraud; deliberate stealing from poor Kenyans on billing, there should be a recommendation that money should be recovered from KPC and we refund poor Kenyans,” he said.
The Senate Committee on Energy, in its report on the cause of the high cost of electricity in the country, directed Auditor General Nancy Gathungu to conduct a special audit of Kenya Power’s finances, systems and billing systems.
The committee, chaired by Nyeri Senator Wahome Wamatinga, established that Kenyans are shouldering the cost of losses associated with transmission and distribution of power – otherwise known as system losses – by Kenya Power.
“The system losses experienced by KPLC are at about 26 per cent against an industry standard of 16 per cent in the year 2022,” the report states.
Majority leader Aaron Cheruiyot said that expensive KPLC contracts with IPPs have made it difficult for ordinary Kenyans to access electricity.
The contracts tied down KPLC to make payments in foreign currencies, especially US dollars, exposing Kenyans to high costs.
Shockingly, according to the report, the contracts are cast in stone – and do not have an exit clause despite their exploitative nature.
“Is it that this contract has no exit clauses? I thought every contract has conditions that if you feel it is no longer tenable or favourable to you, upon certain notices and such things, there should be ways and means of exiting,” Cheruiyot said.
The Kericho senator called for the prosecution of current and/or former officials who tied down the country to expensive contracts.
“When you are a holder of a public office, particularly those who enter into contracts on behalf of the people of Kenya, they need to know that they act on behalf of all of us,” he said.
“Should they be careless, they should be charged for the dereliction of duty and putting Kenyans in losses.”
