A section of Kenyan residents is expressing their concerns about unusually high electricity bills, which have surged significantly within just one month. They are puzzled by the sudden increase in their monthly electricity charges.
Some individuals took to online platforms to voice their frustrations, highlighting substantial spikes in their bills. For instance, one person reported a remarkable jump from an average of Ksh5,000 to Ksh10,000 to an astonishing Ksh700,000. This individual, who resides in Meru County, mentioned having only a few household appliances, including a fridge, television, iron box, and an incubator, all of which are used sparingly.
Furthermore, another resident, living alone with minimal electronics, experienced an increase from an average of Ksh3,000 to Ksh70,000 within a month.
These perplexed consumers have attempted to seek clarification from the power company but have faced difficulties in obtaining satisfactory answers. Consequently, they feel compelled to pay these unexpectedly high bills.
In addition to elevated charges, some customers have raised concerns about the depletion of their electricity tokens after a blackout, even when their credits were not close to running out during the outage. For instance, one consumer had 23 units before a power outage, only to discover that their tokens were completely depleted after power was restored.
This situation has prompted calls for Kenya Power to investigate the issue, as many suspect that it is leading to inflated power bills.
Notably, Philip Etale, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Communications Director, shared a similar experience. He saw his bill increase from Ksh5,783 to Ksh15,439 in the span of a single month, expressing his frustration with the situation and suggesting that such a significant increase in electricity consumption seems unlikely.
The rising cost of electricity has been an ongoing concern in Kenya. Kenya Power has urged consumers to remain patient, with hopes that the prices will stabilize in the near future.
