Waziri Mayai Wa Maradhi
JF-Expert Member
- Jan 28, 2026
- 349
- 92
Kenya's fuel price shock has reached electricity consumers, with EPRA-gazetted modifications scheduled to add around KSh 4.72 per kilowatt-hour to April power bills on top of the usual base tariff, increasing already high cost-of-living pressures at the pump.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority issued three gazette notices for April meter readings, which included a Fuel Energy Cost Charge of KSh 3.47 per kWh, a Foreign Exchange Fluctuation Adjustment of KSh 1.2341 per kWh, and a Water Resource Management Authority Levy of KSh 0.0154 per kWh.
Compared to a base residential tariff of KSh 15 to KSh 25 per kWh depending on use band, the additional KSh 4.72 implies a 20-30% increase over base rates for the majority of consumers.
The May pricing cycle will include cargoes discharged in April, implying that the full impact of the Middle East supply shock has yet to be completely reflected in gasoline and electricity prices.
The impact grows with consumption, with a low-consumption household of 50 units facing an additional KSh 236. An average home of 150 units will now pay an additional KSh 708, while a mid-to-high household of 300 units will pay more than KSh 1,400.
Businesses with 1,000 units will see their prices increase by about KSh 4,720. These charges are per unit consumed and have no effect on the fixed monthly charge component of Kenya Power bills.
Diesel and heavy fuel oil expenses at thermal power plants in March 2026 are reflected in the Fuel Energy Cost Charge. Diesel is a major component of Kenya's off-grid and remote region supplies; according to EPRA data, fuel prices at remote stations ranged from KSh 193 to KSh 295 per kilogram in March.
Kenyans in remote areas are already paying almost twice as much as the Nairobi pump price per kilogram just to keep their lights on, with Kiunga standing at KSh 284.86 and Faza Island at KSh 251.58. Olkaria geothermal steam, on the other hand, costs KSh 2.59 per kWh, highlighting Kenya's energy mix vulnerability when diesel-dependent stations bear a disproportionate cost burden.
The Foreign Exchange Fluctuation Adjustment of KSh 1.2341 per kWh reflects KSh 1.342 billion in currency losses incurred by KenGen, Kenya Power, and independent power producers in March 2026 on dollar-denominated power purchase agreements.
Spread across 1.302 billion kWh generated and purchased during the month, that loss translates directly into higher April/May bills. Annualized, currency losses of this scale would exceed KSh 16 billion passed to consumers from exchange rate movements alone.
The electricity adjustments arrive 2 weeks after E EPRA announced a record gross diesel increase of KSh 40.30 and petrol rise of KSh 28.69, later partially cushioned by a VAT cut from 16% to 8% applied in two steps, leaving net increases of KSh 30.09 on diesel and KSh 19.32 on petrol from the previous cycle.
The gazette notices were signed by Dr. (Eng.) Joseph Oketch as Acting Director General, following the arrest of former DG Daniel Kiptoo Bargoria in the ongoing petroleum supply scandal.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority issued three gazette notices for April meter readings, which included a Fuel Energy Cost Charge of KSh 3.47 per kWh, a Foreign Exchange Fluctuation Adjustment of KSh 1.2341 per kWh, and a Water Resource Management Authority Levy of KSh 0.0154 per kWh.
Compared to a base residential tariff of KSh 15 to KSh 25 per kWh depending on use band, the additional KSh 4.72 implies a 20-30% increase over base rates for the majority of consumers.
The May pricing cycle will include cargoes discharged in April, implying that the full impact of the Middle East supply shock has yet to be completely reflected in gasoline and electricity prices.
The impact grows with consumption, with a low-consumption household of 50 units facing an additional KSh 236. An average home of 150 units will now pay an additional KSh 708, while a mid-to-high household of 300 units will pay more than KSh 1,400.
Businesses with 1,000 units will see their prices increase by about KSh 4,720. These charges are per unit consumed and have no effect on the fixed monthly charge component of Kenya Power bills.
Diesel and heavy fuel oil expenses at thermal power plants in March 2026 are reflected in the Fuel Energy Cost Charge. Diesel is a major component of Kenya's off-grid and remote region supplies; according to EPRA data, fuel prices at remote stations ranged from KSh 193 to KSh 295 per kilogram in March.
Kenyans in remote areas are already paying almost twice as much as the Nairobi pump price per kilogram just to keep their lights on, with Kiunga standing at KSh 284.86 and Faza Island at KSh 251.58. Olkaria geothermal steam, on the other hand, costs KSh 2.59 per kWh, highlighting Kenya's energy mix vulnerability when diesel-dependent stations bear a disproportionate cost burden.
The Foreign Exchange Fluctuation Adjustment of KSh 1.2341 per kWh reflects KSh 1.342 billion in currency losses incurred by KenGen, Kenya Power, and independent power producers in March 2026 on dollar-denominated power purchase agreements.
Spread across 1.302 billion kWh generated and purchased during the month, that loss translates directly into higher April/May bills. Annualized, currency losses of this scale would exceed KSh 16 billion passed to consumers from exchange rate movements alone.
The electricity adjustments arrive 2 weeks after E EPRA announced a record gross diesel increase of KSh 40.30 and petrol rise of KSh 28.69, later partially cushioned by a VAT cut from 16% to 8% applied in two steps, leaving net increases of KSh 30.09 on diesel and KSh 19.32 on petrol from the previous cycle.
The gazette notices were signed by Dr. (Eng.) Joseph Oketch as Acting Director General, following the arrest of former DG Daniel Kiptoo Bargoria in the ongoing petroleum supply scandal.
