The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has announced three new charges that will hit your May 2026 power bill.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The energy regulatory body made this announcement via a Gazette Notice dated May 15, adding a Foreign Exchange Fluctuation Adjustment of 110.33 cents per kilowatt hour. This is roughly Ksh1, plus 10 cents extra per unit you use.

“PURSUANT to Clause 1 of Part III of the Schedule of Tariffs, 2023, notice is given that all Prices for Electrical Energy specified in Part II of the said Schedule will be liable to a Fuel Energy Cost Charge of Plus 306 Kenya cents per kWh for all meter readings to be taken in May, 2026,” stated EPRA.

Another cost to be incurred is the Fuel Energy Cost Charge, which will add Ksh3.06  per kWh. This implies that more than Ksh3 per unit will be charged.

📌 What You Need to Know

Third, the Water Resource Management Authority levy adds another Ksh1.35  per kWh. It applies only to power from large hydro plants in counties such as Machakos, Embu, Kitui, Murang'a, Kiambu forming the Seven Forks scheme along the Tana River.

The forex charge, according to EPRA, is derived from total exchange losses incurred by power producers, which hit Ksh1.17 billion in April this year.

That loss came from KenGen, independent power producers (IPPs), and the Epic diesel plant, all of which buy equipment or fuel using foreign currency.

EPRA incorporates foreign currency on electricity bills through the Foreign Exchange (Forex) Fluctuation Adjustment, which is a variable "pass-through" charge calculated monthly to recover currency exchange losses incurred by power generators and suppliers when servicing dollar-denominated loans and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

The forex adjustment is calculated based on the total units generated and purchased in April. That figure stood at 1.275 billion kilowatt hours.

Now, the fuel charge is tied to diesel and thermal plants. For example, diesel in Habaswein costs Ksh306.73 per kilogram in April.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke