Nairobi — Kenya Power and Lightning Company (KPLC) has rubbished claims that it is inflating electricity prices, saying that reports are hell-bent on tarnishing its name.

KPLC responses come after Business Daily yesterday reported that consumers were being overcharged by up to 20 percent for unused power bills.

The utility firm, however, says that electricity bills are computed based on customer consumption, which is the difference between the current meter and previous readings.

Thereafter, the approved base tariffs, levies, and taxes are then applied to the consumption to compute the customer's monthly bill.

"Kenya Power has taken note of a misleading article titled Auditor reveals how Kenya Power inflates electricity bills that was published in the Business Daily newspaper on 7th August, 2023. The article quotes a report by the Auditor General that was presented before a parliamentary committee," KPLC said in a statement.

"Kenya Power takes exception to the contents of the article, which are not only nonfactual but also geared towards building a false narrative around the cost of electricity and tarnishing the brand."

It adds that each month, the regulator (the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority) checks and confirms the electricity supplier charges customers based on approved rates.

"Part of power system losses are inevitable during transmission and distribution of power; therefore, the regulator sets a threshold for the allowable system losses that is factored in the tariff," KPLC said.

"In the current financial year, the regulator has allowed system losses up to a maximum of 18.5%. Kenya Power meets the cost of system losses incurred above what is allowed," it added.

"Kenya Power buys electricity through one hundred (100) delivery points from fifty eight (58) power suppliers that include KenGen, IPPs, REREC and imports and all these delivery points have been verified to have both main and backup meters (check meters) as required in the respective Power Purchase Agreements."