Bills war: Kenya Power demands Sh3b as City Hall delivers garbage

Ugly drama ensued on Monday as Nairobi County Government and Kenya Power fought over pending unpaid bills.

The drama started in the morning when City Hall, incensed by a decision by the power supply to disconnect electricity, dumped nauseating waste at Stima Plaza before barricading the building with garbage trucks in a retaliatory move that ended-up in blame games.

Last week, Kenya Power disconnected power at several county government offices including City Hall demanding to be paid Sh3 billion in accrued bills. The action seems to have angered officials at City Hall who responded by unleashing garbage at Stima Plaza - the headquarters of Kenya Power along Kolobot Road in Nairobi's Parklands.

The move caused a stir at Stima Plaza where staff were unable to withstand the stench that wafted through their windows forcing most of them to vacate their officers.  

According to Kenya Power General Manager for Commercial and Sales, Engineer Rosemary Oduor, the dispute had escalated to new heights. She described the situation as unbearable.

“This morning, county government garbage trucks deposited some garbage at our banking hall and they have trucks around Stima Plaza with garbage. We can’t explain why they have done this, but we have had a long-standing issue regarding payment of electricity bills,” said Oduor.

The standoff is just the latest in a series of retaliatory moves between the two entities, exposing deep-rooted financial tensions that have escalated into a tit-for-tat confrontation affecting essential services in the capital city.

And dumping was garbage was not enough punishment, City Hall went ahead cutting water supply to all Kenya Power offices in Nairobi and blocked their sewer lines.

For the better part of the day, operations were severely disrupted at Stima Plaza after workers were forced to leave the building as the foul smell became overwhelming.

“We have also had some unfortunate incidents like disconnection of water and blockage of sewer lines, not only here at Stima Plaza but also in our other offices within Nairobi,” said an employee.

Adding to the chaos, the county government also clamped and towed away vehicles parked around Stima Plaza, despite owners having paid for public parking.

“The parking around here is public parking and the owners had paid for the parking. We can’t explain why they have done this but we have had a long standing issue in regards with payments of electricity bills,” added the employee.

Nairobi County insisted that Kenya Power owes them even more. County Secretary Godfrey Akumali claimed the power suplly owes City Hall Sh 4.8 billion in accumulated wayleaves rental fees.

“Let it be very clear; KPLC owes us Sh4.8 billion. They are making profits and announcing them publicly, yet they can’t pay their dues,” said Akumali.

According to the county government, Kenya Power has ignored several letters demanding payment, dating back to 2017.

The most recent demand, issued in December 2024, put the outstanding amount at Sh4.83 billion. Additionally, the county claims that Kenya Power owes Sh17 million in land rates for 2025.

Beyond the dispute over electricity bills, Nairobi county officials accuse Kenya Power of profiting from public infrastructure without paying its fair share.

Finance CEC Charles Kerich pointed out that Kenya Power leases its power poles and transmission lines to internet service providers (ISPs), allowing them to run fiber-optic cables without paying wayleave fees to the county.

“KPLC now hosts optic cables and internet services. Those green and red cables on their poles? That's the internet. They are making money, yet they refuse to pay their debt. Who are we supposed to pay ours to?” stated Kerich.

In June 2023 when Kenya Power announced plans to introduce special utility poles for internet services, prompting the county government to claim that the company is expanding its commercial operations while evading legally mandated fees.

The dispute dates back to 2007, when Kenya Power challenged Nairobi County’s authority to impose wayleave fees. Though the High Court dismissed Kenya Power’s petition, the company sought relief from the Court of Appeal but never formally filed an appeal, effectively stalling payments.

As of January 2025, multiple ISPs including Safaricom, Jamii Telecommunications, Wananchi Group, and MTN Business (K) Limited, have leased infrastructure from Kenya Power, generating significant revenue for the power firm.

The county governmnet argues that while Kenya Power profits, it continues to avoid contributing its fair share to Nairobi’s public revenue.

The dispute has raised concerns about the financial health of both institutions. Kenya Power, which has been struggling with mounting unpaid bills, wrote off an additional Sh2 billion in bad debts in June 2024, bringing the total amount written off to Sh19.28 billion.

The company has since announced plans to intensify disconnections for defaulting clients and increase security deposit requirements to curb further losses.

Eng. Oduor justified the disconnection saying Kenya Power has in vain been engaging in discussions with City Hall for over two years and insisted that reconciled bills must be settled.

“We give a service, and as expected, the customers make payments for the services rendered after we have billed them. Nairobi City County, about two years ago, came to us raising a dispute over part of their bills, but their bills have been accumulating over time without payment of the full billing,” she explained.

Although power was restored after negotiations, Eng. Oduor expressed shock at the county’s decision to dump garbage at its premises.

“We are surprised by this move, especially since power at City Hall was restored on Friday,” she said.