Kenya Slashes Power Costs of Consumers by 15%

By Adedapo Adesanya 

Kenya has announced a 15 per cent reduction in power costs, handing relief to thousands of homes and industries burdened by the high cost of living and production.

The East African country’s Ministry of Energy in a statement released in the capital Nairobi said the reduction takes effect immediately and would cover the entire 2022 period.

“The tariff reduction is a fulfilment of a commitment made by President Uhuru Kenyatta to the nation, that the first tranche of reduction, 15 per cent, will be reflected in the bills covering the end of the year in 2021,” said the ministry.

The government institution observed that the reduction will boost livelihoods and economic growth by reducing the cost of living, putting more money in Kenyans’ pockets and reducing the cost of doing business.

The ministry said it is working to see the second 15 per cent reduction is affected in the first quarter of the year, bringing the total cut to 30 per cent.

The 30 per cent cut will see consumer costs drop from an average of 24 shillings (about 0.21 U.S. dollars) per kilowatt-hour to 16 shillings (about 0.14 US Dollars).

Kenya’s demand for electricity has sustained an upward trend, growing at an average rate of 4.5 per cent year-on-year driven by rising economic activities.