- Kenya to overhaul its energy sector
- Seeks to lower fuel costs for affordable electricity
- Task Force inaugurated to review existing PPAs
Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Secretary, Fred Matiangi, has announced the Kenyan government’s plan to overhaul its energy sector to reduce the cost of fuel and electricity for consumers. This comes as the state-owned electric utility Kenya Power was ordered by President Uhuru Kenyatta to suspend further approvals of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and carry out a review of existing PPAs.
“In the coming weeks, we will launch an aggressive program to address the challenges in the energy sector. We are certain that the prices of fuel will not only come down but even the bills and the costs of electricity we are paying will come down,” Matiangi said.
According to Matiangi, the high cost of electricity has affected local and foreign investments in the country. In addition, crude oil prices reached the highest levels in three years in June, affecting the cost of electricity. Kenya’s Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) had in April increased the pump prices by KSh 9.5 on average, resulting in the price increase across sectors of the economy.