Why KPLC Might Force Millions Out Of Business

Kenyan economy thrives on the wheels of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). They employ 86 percent of the country’s population and provide about 45.5 percent of the country’s GDP. About 9.2 million registered businesses are SMEs.

10 years ago, 450,000 SMEs were shutting down annually, 30,000 monthly, and 1,000 daily. Ironically, government records show that at least 1,000 businesses are registered daily in Kenya. So, for every business registered, another one is shutting down.

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The number of businesses shutting down in Kenya is beyond imagination. The government seems to have gone all out to make sure that businesses do not survive with massive taxation, high cost of doing business, and unreasonable regulations that are killing businesses.

And now there is a new threat to businesses; the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC). Most people who own fast foods within and without Nairobi are considering shutting down because power bills are making them poorer than ever before.

Zablon Okinda runs fast food in Nairobi. Initially, he would purchase tokens worth 3,000 shillings from KPLC. These tokens, at the end of the day, would have prepared food that would give him between 6,000 and 7,000 shillings in profits.

“As we speak, the same tokens worth 3,000 shillings can barely give me 4,500. This is without other things that I have included in the preparation of the said food. It is like I am working for KPLC,” he says. His plan is to shut down the business if it persists.

Another is Maryanne Obonyo who runs a kinyozi and a salon at Allsopps. She spends more on power tokens than years back. “With tokens worth 1,000 shillings, I would make at least 4,000. Now, sometimes I make 1,900 shillings. What kind of business is this?” she laments.

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The above two cases are just examples of how the high cost of power is hitting hard on businesses. People have been screaming about this. The more they scream, the more the power increases. President William Ruto promised that no power will go up. Why is the government doing the contrary?