ERC director-general Pavel Oimeke. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Summary
- The agency says its inspectors have started carrying out random checks following the lapse of the September 25 deadline for installing solar systems.
- Under the energy (solar water heating) regulations 2012 seeking to ease pressure on the national grid by encouraging use of renewable sources of energy, premises with hot water requirements of more than 100 litres per day must be fitted with solar heating systems.
- The affected include domestic houses with at least three bedrooms, colleges and boarding schools with 20 or more students and hotels, hostels and lodges with at least four beds.
- Others are restaurants that serve at least 20 meals a day and laundries that handle more than 20kgs of clothes.
Property owners risk a Sh1 million fine or one year in jail
after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) started vetting buildings
to check for compliance with solar heating rules.
The
agency says its inspectors have started carrying out random checks
following the lapse of the September 25 deadline for installing solar
systems.
“The commission is currently carrying out
surveillance visits on buildings under construction and random spot
checks on existing premises,” ERC director-general Pavel Oimeke said in a
May 9 notice.
Under the energy (solar water heating)
regulations 2012 seeking to ease pressure on the national grid by
encouraging use of renewable sources of energy, premises with hot water
requirements of more than 100 litres per day must be fitted with solar
heating systems.
The affected include domestic houses with at least three
bedrooms, colleges and boarding schools with 20 or more students and
hotels, hostels and lodges with at least four beds.
Others are restaurants that serve at least 20 meals a day and laundries that handle more than 20kgs of clothes.
The
regulations prohibit Kenya Power from connecting electricity to any of
the property owners that fail to install solar panels. They also impose
the Sh1 million fine or one year jail term on manufacturers, vendors and
contractors who contravene the ERC solar specifications.
The
ERC had earlier indicated its intention to extend the deadline for the
second time to May 25 to give property owners ample time for compliance
but no gazette notice was published to that effect.
Thursday,
the regulator accused fraudsters of impersonating its inspectors as the
crackdown begins. “We have received information that fraudsters
masquerading as ERC officers are inspecting buildings in relation to
these regulations,” the ERC said in a notice. “All ERC officers
inspecting facilities have official badges that owners should request to
see.”
The ERC becomes the second energy sector agency
to cry foul of an invasion by fraudsters. Last month, Kenya Power issued
an alert warning the public of “increasing cases of fraudulent
activities by con men who are using fake forms to defraud.”
Among
other things, the listed utility firm accused the cons of taking money
from unsuspecting public with false promise of electricity connection,
compensation for the lease and for taking care of the installations.
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