The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has reduced retail tariffs for heavy consumers to Sh7.99 per kilowatt hour (kWh) from Sh10.10 a 20.8pc decrease.
The energy watchdog says the move to lower the prices for large manufacturers will make power costs competitive compared with the other African nations such as Ethiopia, South Africa and Egypt.
Heavy users operating in Special Economic Zones close to the Naivasha standard gauge railway (SGR) station will pay the least at Sh5 per kWh, from the current rate of Sh10.10 and Sh12.
Pavel Oimeke, EPRA Director-General, argues that the discount will only apply to larger manufacturers connected to the 220 kilovolt lines to ease their production costs.
Domestic, commercial and small industrialists will, however, not enjoy the reduced costs and are facing a spike as the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) continues to push for higher tariffs.
KPLC has been consistently seeking higher tariffs, arguing that it needs them to cover the capital-intensive nature of building and maintaining the already weak nationwide electricity distribution infrastructure.
The monopoly wants to increase the consumption charge for the 5.7 million customers consuming less than 100 kilowatts per month up from Sh10 to Sh12.50 a unit.
KPLC has issued a profit warning for the second year in a row.
Kenyan Business Feed is the top Kenyan Business Blog. We share news from Kenya and across the region. To contact us with any alert, please email us to [email protected]