State keeps power connection subsidy at Sh35,000

Politics and policy

Technicians repair power lines in Thika. The actual cost of single phase connections stands at Sh135,000 while three phase connections require Sh350,000. Photo/FILE 

By GERALD ANDAE, gandae@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• PS Joseph Njoroge says ongoing study is unlikely to affect the fees of connecting homes and businesses to the national grid.

The Energy ministry will maintain subsidies for new power connections beyond June, keeping the fee at Sh35,000 for households.

Energy and Petroleum Principal Secretary Joseph Njoroge said on Tuesday that an ongoing study on connection charges — which will be concluded in June — is unlikely to affect the fees of connecting homes and businesses to the national grid.

“It’s the government’s intention to maintain the subsidy plan for a longer period to make the connections affordable,” said Mr Njoroge in a briefing to the media.

“The study will reveal the true cost of the subsidy. We need to know the difference between what consumers pay for connection and what the government will top up.”

The study seeks to determine how much Kenya Power should charge for new connections. It is funded by the French Development Agency.

The government directed Kenya Power to connect those applying for single phase and three phase electricity connections within a radius of 600 metres from transformers at Sh35,000 and Sh45,000 respectively.

The actual cost of single phase connections stands at Sh135,000 while three phase connections require Sh350,000 — meaning State subsidies for the two stand at Sh100,000 and Sh305,000 respectively.

The government offered Kenya Power a subsidy of Sh2.7 billion and has delayed the disbarment of another Sh2.7 billion, leading to delays in connecting nearly 27,000 people to the grid despite paying the utility Sh1.1 billion.

READ: Kenya Power holding Sh1.1bn for unconnected customers

Mr Njoroge said the partnership that bridges the gap between the old connection rate of Sh35,000 for a single meter and Sh45,000 for double meters to the Sh75,000 preferred by Kenya Power will continue.

Mr Njoroge was briefing the media alongside Cabinet Secretaries Najib Balala (Mining) and Phyllis Kandie (Tourism) as well as Principal Secretaries for Transport and Infrastructure ministries Nduva Muli and John Mosonik respectively.

They were highlighting their achievements in the past year and future plans.

On Monday, Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed, Ms Judi Wakhungu (Water), Mr Felix Kosgei (Agriculture) and Principal Secretary Mariam Elmaki addressed the media and outlined their achievements in the last one year.

Mr Njoroge said that the government was seeking concessional loans to the tune of $800 million (Sh69.2 billion) to triple the current annual connection rate to one million new customers annually over a five-year period.

Last year, Kenya Power connected 292,337 people to the grid compared to 285,277 in 2012.