Cost Of Electricity Per Unit In Kenya Compared To Other Countries

In the past months, Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has dominated most conversations due to the high pricing model of their tokens. The price of electricity tokens now stands at the highest in history, hitting the already-tattered pockets of Kenyans.

Although President William Ruto, during his campaigns, promised among other things to make the cost of electricity affordable in an effort to encourage business and low cost of living, since he took office, the price has been going up by the day.

Despite the wailing and the screaming of Kenyans, neither Kenya Power nor the government has raised a voice to address the concerns. Maybe it is because of the fact that they know that KPLC is the only power distributor and that Kenyans will always buy power.

As the cost of electricity continues to rise, so is the cost of other basic commodities due to the high cost of production. Manufacturers through the Kenya Association of Manufacturers have often been complaining about the high cost of power.

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This is how expensive electricity is in Kenya currently:

If you take 400 shillings to purchase tokens from Kenya Power and Lighting Company before anything else can happen, 46.58 shillings will be deducted as Value Added Tax (VAT), 138.88 shillings will be taken away as Fuel Energy Charge, 40.7 shillings as Forex Charge, 0.58 shillings as EPRA Charge, 0.22 and 7.56 shillings as WRA Charge and REP Charge respectively. 13.16 shillings will be taken as Inflation Adjustment.

In the end, you will be left with 151.32 shillings for tokens. In other words, more than 55 percent of your money is deducted as taxes and other charges before you can be left with some peanuts to buy whatever you wanted. KPLC takes your money, distributes it, and decides how much you should remain with. The cost keeps on fluctuating.

In 2022, comparing the amount of electricity consumed in September to that of August, data from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) showed power use declined to 1.099 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in September from 1.11 billion units that were consumed in August after power prices were increased for the first time in 10 months.

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Currently, the price of electricity per unit in Kenya is about 23 shillings. This is among the highest prices in the East African Region. In Uganda, the price is about 20.66 shillings while in Tanzania, it is about 12.34 shillings. In Burundi, the price of electricity per unit is 20.28 shillings while in Rwanda is 30.24 shillings. The Democratic Republic of Congo has theirs at 10.33 shillings.

Here is a breakdown of the price of electricity per unit in 15 African countries in Kenyan currency. The data is as of June 2022 and the exchange rate is 126 shillings to the US Dollar:

Kenya (Ksh. 23), Uganda (Ksh 20.66), Tanzania (Ksh 12.34), Burundi (Ksh 20.28), Rwanda (Ksh 30.24), DRC (Ksh 10.33), South Africa (Ksh 20.53), Nigeria (Ksh 6.3), Morocco (Ksh 14.49), Cameroon (Ksh 10.33), South Sudan (Ksh 1.13), Senegal (Ksh 21.54), Ghana (Ksh 3.78), Sudan (Ksh 1.13), Benin (Ksh 20.28).

As the prices in Kenya keep soaring, Kenya Power’s financial statements for the fiscal year to June 2022 showed that Kenyans owe the firm 27.3 billion shillings worth of electricity that they consumed during the period.

County governments, ministries, departments and agencies, parastatals, industrial customers, and household users especially those fitted with postpaid meters accounted for most of this debt.

Kenya Power said some 14.3 billion shillings had not been paid for more than three months to June, while 2.11 billion shillings stood unpaid for between 30 days and 90 days. Meanwhile, 10.7 billion shillings stood unpaid for less than 30 days pushing the company into financial difficulties.

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