•MPs said all public officers who executed the payment for deemed generated energy must be held to account.
•Say the deal was driven by pecuniary interests hence the concessions to pay at a higher rate.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
A House team has directed Kenya Power bosses to file responses before it on the circumstances under which the firm rushed to pay Sh7 billion in the sunset days of President Uhuru Kenyatta's reign.
The Energy Committee of the National Assembly wants details of the Sh18 billions paid to Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) for power that was never used by Kenyans.
The Mwala MP Vincent Musyoka-led team wants Kenya Power to name the officer(s) who authorised the payment with a view to recommending that they be surcharged.
MPs also want word from the power bosses on which vote the billions were charged to and the plans in place to recover the money.
The team held that payments were irregular, while poking holes on the contract between the independent power producer and the government.
The directive followed after Kenya Power managing director Joseph Siror was hard-pressed to respond to concerns why payments were rushed in the midst of the transition.
In a meeting with Kenya Power top guns, MPs said all public officers who executed the payment for deemed generated energy must be held to account.
MP Musyoka said the arrangement where Kenyans paid for power they never consumed is suspicious and must be probed.
“The explanation, which has been given on this matter, doesn’t hold. We were initially told the payment was because Ketraco was not ready to evacuate the power but when we visited, we established that LTWP themselves were apparently not ready,” he said.
“We see a possibility of canvassing between government officials and the IPP. It was illegal to stick to one yet there were many suppliers at that time.”
The Mwala MP said the deal was driven by pecuniary interests hence the concessions to pay at a higher rate of “16 US cents per kilowatt”.
“Because of interest in the contract, we ended up buying more power than what we needed and pay for power that was not used,” Musyoka said.
This was as MPs questioned the clause in the contract entered into in 2009, which stipulated taxpayers would pay for power produced even when facility to transmit to consumers was not ready.
Awendo MP Walter Owino said the concerned government and Kenya Power officials who occasioned the payments must be probed.
“We want details such as how much has been paid so far to LTWP, which vote was used to make the payment and who made the payment,” the MP said.
Owino said the current Kenya Power CEO should provide the answers in as much as he was not at the helm of the power utility at the time the contract and payments were agreed upon.
“He must take responsibility and give us the answers that we need. There is nothing like someone was not in office. We need answers,” the MP said.
Gem MP Elisha Odhiambo said heads must roll since taxpayers money was used to pay the mysterious bill, pointing out the possibility Kenya Power was recovering the money from fuel cost.
“Someone misused the money and paid the firm (LTWP) in a rush. They must be held to account,” the MP said.
Siror denied claims Kenya Power was recovering the amount from the fuel cost charge.
“We are not charging the amount from fuel cost. We will get all the details by next week,” he said.
Whereas LTWP commissioned the 310MW power plant on January 27, 2017, the transmission line was not ready until September 24, 2019.
The government delayed in constructing the evacuation line after a Spanish company that was given the contract went broke.
The line would later be completed by a Chinese firm-Nari Group Corporation.