The latest increase is attributed to high fuel prices and the weakening of the Kenya shilling against the dollar.
Consequently, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) increased the fuel component of power bills with the additional cost being passed on to consumers.
EPRA increased the fuel cost charge (FCC) by 4.41 percent in October.
With the increase in FCC, consumers will now pay more for electricity than they did last month amid concerns of the already high cost of living.
The further weakening of the Kenyan shilling against the dollar added to the gloom with EPRA reviewing the foreign exchange rate fluctuation adjustment (FERFA) upwards by 8.8 percent.
![[FILE] Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) live line experts dismantle power cables to relocate power lines to pave way for the construction of the Nairobi Expressway in Westlands, Nairobi, on September 24, 2020. (Photo by SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images)](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'790'%20height%3D'527'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "[FILE] Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) live line experts dismantle power cables to relocate power lines to pave way for the construction of the Nairobi Expressway in Westlands, Nairobi, on September 24, 2020. (Photo by SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images)")
FERFA now stands at Sh1.48 per unit, up from Sh1.36 per unit last month.
To put this into context, a consumer who spent Sh1209 to buy 62.75 units in September will now dig deeper into their pockets for the same units which will now go for Sh1,238.
The high power prices will increases the cost of production for various commodities, pushing inflation up.
As of September, inflation was at a 63-month high of 9.2 percent.
Discussion about this post