Africa-Press – Kenya. Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has termed as unacceptable the government’s decision to hike electricity costs by 16.5 per cent terming it an “unacceptable burden on tired, hungry and angry Kenyans”.
In a statement on X on Thursday, Kalonzo said the move demonstrates the Kenya Kwanza government’s inability to ease the prevailing high cost of living on Kenyans.
“This is a clear example of the KK regime’s inability to address the cost of living. They want to leave us in the dark, but I am telling them, know kuna nuru gizani (there’s light in darkness).”
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) raised this month’s power bill in response to the weakening value of the Kenyan shilling against the US Dollar.
The authority hiked the energy charge by 8.7 per cent to Sh4.33 per unit, up from Sh 3.98 levied last month.
Epra also increased the foreign exchange rate fluctuation adjustment charge by 103.7 per cent to Sh 6.46 per unit, up from Sh3.17.
The authority attributed the adjustment to the declining value of the Kenyan shilling against the US dollar, currently exchanging at an average of Sh157.78 a dollar.
The decision is likely to hit households and businesses harder worsening the prevailing high cost of living and resulting in other economic implications like high production costs for industries.
Kenyans online cried foul with some like Gabriel Oguda welcoming the news with scorn.
“Mlisema tuanzie bottom, tukienda up, yaani bottom-up? Nyinyi ni wangwana sana, salaale,” he said.
The tariff adjustment is the second in four months after Epra reviewed the energy charge and foreign exchange rate fluctuation adjustment charge in October 2023.
While citing a depreciating shilling, Epra raised the fuel energy charge by 18.7 per cent from Sh4.16 to Sh 4.94 per unit and hiked the foreign exchange rate fluctuation adjustment from Sh1.38 per unit to Sh2.05, representing a 48.5 per cent jump.
The move came even after President William Ruto allayed fears that the cost of living was set to skyrocket over plans by the government to hike power tariffs.
Speaking in a church service in Mombasa on January 1, 2023, the President assured Kenyans that the government was working on creating electricity tariffs that would support them.
“I want to allay the fears that are being spread by people that there will be an increase in electricity cost. There will be no additional charges today or in the future as we removed the subsidies in August,” he said.
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