Kenya Power has denied reports of inflating customers’ electricity bills. The alleged inflation was first reported by the Business Daily Newspaper on Monday, based on a report by the Auditor General after a forensic review of the country’s electricity generation, transmission and distribution.

According to the report, the utility company has been overcharging customers by up to 20% for the power they did not use. The extra charges are not traceable in its billing system.

Through a statement on Tuesday, Kenya Power denied the allegations and termed the newspaper report as misleading and non-factual.

The company said all its electricity bills are computed based on customer consumption of the difference between the current meter reading and the previous month’s reading.

“The approved base tariffs, levies and taxes are then applied to the consumption to compute the customer’s monthly bill,” said the company.

The report has brought attention to the issue of inaccurately calculated system losses, which were reportedly influenced by outdated study reports, incomplete simulations, and errors in arithmetic.

Kenya Power, in response, acknowledged that certain power system losses are factored into their tariff structure.

“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,” the company said.

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KPLC also said that the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has sanctioned the inclusion of system losses of up to 18.5% in the ongoing fiscal year. The company also clarified that it covers the expenses related to system losses that surpass the authorized limit.

“Each month, the regulator checks and verifies that Kenya Power charges customers based on approved rates,” they said.

The report also asserted that in the fiscal year 2020/2021, Kenya Power reported system losses of 23.98% exceeding the sanctioned loss limit of 19%. Similarly, in 2021/2022, the documented system loss was 22.4%, surpassing the approved efficiency loss of 19%.

Addressing additional claims, the utility company dismissed the allegation that only 38 out of the 96 power generation plants supplying them possessed back up meters, or check meters.

Kenya Power authoritatively stated that it operates with a network of one hundred delivery points sourced from fifty-eight electricity suppliers through which it procures power. The company also said that each of these points has been verified to be equipped with both primary and secondary meters, commonly referred to as main and check meters.