Nairobi — Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has drafted an amendment to the Energy Act in the latest attempt to curtail the powerful cartels in the power generation sector that have exposed Kenyans to exorbitant electricity prices.
Sifuna emphasized that the bill will deal with powerful cartels at Kenya Power who have impeded cheaper power supply options and instead opted for electricity from more expensive thermal generators.
"In my time as a member of the Senate Energy Committee I have come to learn of a very powerful office at KPLC called a "dispatcher ". A person who has a view of all our power generation plants and decides whose power is "dispatched" (added to the grid)," he said.
"I have prepared an amendment to the Energy Act to bring greater transparency hapo kwa dispatcher. Hapo kuna mchezo,"Sifuna added.
The Nairobi Senator pointed out that the powerful energy cartel has hindered the prioritization of five critical power grid lines that would result in a more stable grid in the country following the incessant cases of power outages in parts of the country.
Sifuna stated that the prioritization of the infamous Turkwel-Ortum-Kitale line and evacuation of geothermal to the coastal region will ensure stability in the power supply in the country.
"Whereas it appears like common sense to prioritize these lines, attention is focused elsewhere because those projects are not "fatty" enough," Sifuna stated.
At the Energy Committee we were able to see through all the Kizungu mingi you hear from KPLC, the CS Energy, and IPP's of sijui "grid stabilization" "base load" and "peaking plants".
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Sifuna however cautioned the rising cost of electricity in the country will probably keep adding to the misery of the public for quite some time due to already legally committed contracts that will last up to 30 years.
"Its all one choreographed robbery syndicate and because we are already legally committed with contracts of up-to 30 years, there is little in terms of what can be done now," he argued.
Consumers are grappling with high electricity prices, mainly attributed to costly purchase agreements with the IPPs.
IPPs whose power sale deals to Kenya Power are typically for 20 years sell electricity for an average of Sh11.87 per kilowatt hour (KWh) compared to the Sh3.93 KenGen offers.
Most of the IPPs have built their plants using a mix of loans and shareholder funds and the power purchase agreements with Kenya Power factor in these costs, ultimately leading to the high cost of electricity.
The high wholesale prices the IPPs sell electricity to Kenya Power have been cited as a major factor behind the high retail prices that have been the subject of parliamentary inquiries.
