Electricity consumers face Sh20 billion bill for lost power

Kenya Power customers are set to bear the brunt of a growing system loss, with nearly a quarter of electricity purchased for distribution lost in the first half of the financial year.

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) released its bi-annual statistics report for 2024/2025, revealing that 24.2 percent of the total energy bought by the utility was lost, a marked increase from the 23.2 percent recorded during the same period last year.

This figure exceeds the 17.5 percent threshold set by the regulator, meaning consumers will foot part of the bill, amounting to Sh20 billion.

According to the report, system losses consist of both technical and commercial losses. Technical losses are inherent and occur due to disruptions in transmission and distribution lines, including transformers and switchgear.

On the other hand, commercial losses stem from power supplied to illegal or unmetered connections, meter tampering, and instances where energy is delivered but not billed.

Though technical losses are unavoidable to some extent, they can be minimized, while commercial losses are entirely avoidable.

The rising losses come despite a reduction in the cost of power, which has been driven by a stable shilling and ample water for electricity generation.

However, the high system losses prevent consumers from fully benefiting from these cost savings.

The regulator permits Kenya Power to recover 19.9 percent of system losses from its consumers, with the utility absorbing any losses beyond this threshold.

Experts indicate that every percentage point of loss equals a Sh1 billion shortfall in revenue, and this means that consumers will ultimately pay for Sh20 billion of the lost power.

Energy experts also suggest that a reduction in system losses would lead to a decrease in costs for consumers.

The country is targeting a reduction in losses to 14.5 percent, which could result in a cost-saving of Sh13.11 billion.

During the period, losses reduced gradually, dropping from a high of 24.9 percent in July to 23.7 percent by December.

Despite efforts by Kenya Power to reduce these losses, Joseph Siror, the company’s CEO, revealed last year that the medium-voltage networks saw a surge in losses during the year.