Cost of electricity to rise, Wandayi says

Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has told the Senate that the inclusion of wayleave charges in the energy bills would increase the cost of electricity by up to 30 per cent.

Wandayi told the Energy Committee that the charges currently stand at Sh63.8 billion.

“If Kenya Power Lighting Company is asked pay for the wayleaves, then that cost will have to be catered for by someone since it would be included in the tariff. This will eventually end up to consumers which is not our intention,” he said.

He said the KPLC is owed Sh4.7 billion by the county governments and urged them to pay for street lighting and power consumption.

Wandayi’s assertion comes in the wake of Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja’s remarks that Kenya Power owed Nairobi Sh4.9 billion in wayleave fees while the county owed the company Sh1.5 billion as electricity bills.

The Cabinet Secretary further told the committee that the Energy Act of 2019 does not allow any public body to charge levies on public energy infrastructure.

“With Kenya Power having over 319,000 kilometres of power lines across all 47 counties, the introduction of wayleaves on power lines will impact negatively on retail tariffs,” said the Cabinet secretary.

The CS disclosed that the ministry was engaging with an investor for the construction of Lessos-Lesuk, Kibos-Kakamega and Musega transmission lines.

He said Kenya Electricity Transmission Company would soon sign a Sh45 billion contract to build two key transmission lines to supply at least 300 megawatts of power to the national grid.

The ministry plans to connect 480,000 new customers and 320 public facilities, and has budgeted for the construction of 248km transmission lines and six substations.

Other plans include 350km of distribution lines and substations, and installation of 6,500 street lighting points to enhance security and promote the economy.

In the Budget Policy Statement for the financial year 2025/2026, the ministry has been allocated Sh55 billion, of which Sh12 billion is for recurrent expenditures and Sh43 billion is for capital expenditures.

Wandayi pointed out that the budgetary constraints will affect last-mile connectivity, the Green Resilient Energy programme, Nuclear Exploration Programme, and Food and Security energy programmes.