Kenya Power, the country's primary electricity utility company, has been exposed for overcharging consumers by up to 20 per cent for electricity they did not use, according to a startling revelation by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu.
The findings emerged during a parliamentary committee's investigation into the high cost of electricity in the nation.
The forensic review conducted by the Auditor-General's office focused on the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity.
The investigation highlighted significant discrepancies between electricity bills and actual consumption, with around 20 per cent of bills unable to be attributed to specific consumers.
Auditor-General Gathungu stated, "Almost 20 percent of the bill to consumers cannot be matched to actual consumption, neither can the distribution company attribute it to a specific consumer."
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The audit further disclosed that Kenya Power had failed to adequately explain the anomaly.
The utility company lacked the capacity to trace extra charges loaded onto consumers in the billing system, raising concerns about transparency and accountability.
Among the audit's significant findings were miscalculations of system losses, resulting from the use of outdated study reports, partial simulations, and arithmetical errors.
The lack of check meters and discrepancies between check meters and main meters further compounded the billing inaccuracies.
Out of the 96 generation plants supplying power to Kenya Power, only 38 had check meters, and all 38 meters belonged to off-the-grid power stations.
This raised questions about the accuracy of billing data and the inability to independently verify the invoices presented by independent power producers (IPPs).
"The risk from lack of access to these key indices means KPLC is limited in its oversight role of ensuring the submitted invoices were correct," said Gathungu.
The audit revealed that system losses accounted for the greatest cost burden to consumers. In the past three financial years, there was a consistently high percentage of system losses, exceeding the approved efficiency loss levels set by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) and Kenya Power.
"The charging of losses impacts on the cost of electricity," Gathungu emphasized while raising concerns about the management's lack of evidence to support efforts to reduce power losses.
Committee Chairman Vincent Musyoka expressed alarm at the Auditor-General's revelations, confirming long-standing fears among Kenyans about exaggerated power bills.
Musyoka emphasized that while transmission losses were expected, they should be shared between Kenya Power and the power producers.
Kenya Power Managing Director, Joseph Siror, defended the unavoidable nature of power losses during transmission, explaining, "The moment you move power from one point to another, there is definitely a loss of power. The longer the line, the higher the losses."
The committee's investigation has brought to light crucial issues surrounding Kenya Power's billing practices, raising questions about transparency, accountability, and the need for immediate reforms to protect consumers from unjustified electricity charges.
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