- With this new development, electricity consumers in Kenya will face potential energy inflation as Kenya grapples with proposed fuel and electricity levy hikes.
- Epra’s 2021 financial records reveal a revenue surge but highlight an electricity levy decline.
The Kenyan government has disclosed plans to increase fuel and electricity prices through changes in its Energy Law. The country plans to double the current prices of the two products to support the operations of the sector regulator. This idea stems from the country’s plan through its Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, 2023, to amend the Energy Act of 2019 by doubling the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority’s (Epra) levy to a maximum of 1 per cent from the current 0.5 per cent.
The Bill read by the Majority Leader in parliament, Kimani Ichung’wah, states, “Delete the phrase “half of a (per cent)” appearing in paragraph (a) (of Section 20(1) of the Act).” The current price of petrol, diesel, and kerosene in Kenya is Ksh0.25 per litre, and each unit of electricity in the country costs Ksh0.08. With this new development, electricity consumers in Kenya will face potential energy inflation as Kenya grapples with rising costs and proposed levy hikes. According to the East African news, the regulator derives its yearly income from fuel and electricity charges.
Epra’s 2021 financial records in recent times show that In 2021, Epra surpassed its 2020 revenue by 16.5 per cent in Ksh1.2 billion ($7.9 million) from the petroleum levy compared to Ksh1.1 billion ($7.2 million) during the pandemic year. However, the same period saw a decline of about 10 per cent in electricity proceeds as Epra earned Ksh236 million ($1.55 million) from the electricity levy in 2021, compared to 2020’s Ksh263 million ($1.72 million).