Energy regulator announces new power tariffs

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has announced new applicable tariffs for Tariff Control Period (TCP) 2018/19 effective that reduced the lifeline threshold from 50kWh to 10kWh and removed the fixed charges for all the customer categories.

ERC Director General Pavel Oimeke said the Commission has however maintained the charge rate for the Domestic Ordinary customers consuming above 100kWh, hence this customer category will not have any change in their current bills.

He added that with the threshold for the lifeline category set at 100kWh, ERC has been able to capture 91.73% of the domestic customers hence covering all the low income households according to the statistics from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

For the Small Commercial Category of Customers, and in the spirit of promoting small and medium enterprises by creating a conducive environment for business, the Commission has reclassified the Small Commercial Category into two distinct categories, SC1 and SC2.

SC1 is the category of consumers consuming less than 100kWh in a month. The energy charge rate for this customer category has been reduced from the current Ksh 15.60/kWh to KSh 10.00/kWh. This will positively affect over 67.30% of Small Commercial customers will enjoy a 31% decline in their bills as compared to the bills received in the month of October 2018.

For SC2, which is composed of consumers consuming more than 100kWh in a month, ERC has maintained the charge rates at the current prevailing rate.

Oimeke said the review follows the need to accommodate numerous concerns raised by members of the public, the National Assembly, the Senate and Customers.

“These complaints have been in regards to the high electricity costs and the need to spur economic growth by the Small and Medium Enterprises. To address these concerns, the Commission is hereby pleased to release the revised tariffs for the Domestic Customers and the Small Commercial customers,” he added.