Business

Kenyans to Pay Higher Electricity Bills After EPRA Introduces New Charges

2 min read

3 minutes ago Scott

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has announced new charges that will increase electricity bills for Kenyans in May 2026.

According to a notice released by the regulator, consumers will now pay extra costs on every unit of electricity used because of new fuel, forex, and water levies.

One of the new charges is the Foreign Exchange Fluctuation Adjustment, which has been set at Ksh1.10 per kilowatt hour (kWh). This charge is meant to recover losses caused by changes in the value of the Kenyan shilling against foreign currencies.

EPRA explained that power producers and suppliers recorded foreign exchange losses amounting to Ksh1.17 billion in April. The losses affected companies such as KenGen, independent power producers (IPPs), and the Epic diesel plant, which buy fuel and equipment using foreign currencies.

Another charge added to the May bill is the Fuel Energy Cost Charge. Consumers will pay an extra Ksh3.06 per kWh due to the high cost of fuel used in thermal and diesel power generation.

EPRA noted that diesel prices in some areas, especially northern Kenya regions such as Turkana, Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, and Lamu, increased sharply in April. In Habaswein, diesel prices reportedly rose to more than Ksh300 per kilogram.

The regulator also announced a Water Resource Management levy of about Ksh1.35 per kWh. The levy only applies to electricity generated from large hydro power stations under the Seven Forks dams along the Tana River.

Some of the counties linked to the hydro power scheme include Machakos, Embu, Kitui, Murang’a, and Kiambu.

EPRA said the money collected through the water levy will support water resource management activities. The charge mainly affects electricity generated from hydro stations such as Gitaru and Masinga dams.

In total, consumers will now pay electricity charges together with additional fuel, forex, and water costs, making May power bills slightly more expensive for households and businesses.

The increase in electricity costs comes at a time when fuel prices have also gone up across the country. Super Petrol will now retail at about Ksh214 per litre while Diesel will sell at around Ksh242 per litre for the next 30 days.