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Tag: Joseph Siror

  • Kenya Power reports drop in electricity costs, warns against wayleave charges

    Kenya Power reports drop in electricity costs, warns against wayleave charges

    The cost of electricity has been steadily declining over the last twelve months as the Kenya Shilling made gains against the US Dollar, Kenya Power has announced.

    Speaking during an engagement meeting with the Kenya Editors Guild earlier today, Kenya Power’s Managing Director & CEO, Eng. Joseph Siror said the strengthening of the shilling has resulted in lower pass-through costs to customers, including forex and fuel costs, which are heavily dependent on the prevailing dollar exchange rate.

    “This has added to the gains from the decline in the base energy cost following a review of the electricity tariff in April 2023 which put in place a three-year tariff that provides for a lower cost per unit, starting in July of each of the three years. So far, the base tariff has declined from Ksh19.04 per unit in 2023 to the current Ksh17.94,” said Eng. Siror.

    The Company is however concerned that the push for the inclusion of wayleave charges on power infrastructure will reverse this trend, pushing the cost of electricity by up to 30% which customers could bear as a pass-through charge.

    “Kenya Power has over 319,000 kilometres of power lines across all 47 counties. The introduction of wayleaves on power lines will impact retail tariffs. Under the proposal to charge wayleaves on electricity infrastructure at a cost of Ksh200 per meter, this translates into Ksh63.8 billion per year. This is approximately 30% of the energy sector’s revenue requirements which must be recovered from the monthly electricity bills. The overall impact is that electricity will become unaffordable to a majority of Kenyans,” said Eng. Siror.

    Section 223 of the Energy Act 2019 prohibits any public entity from charging levies on public energy infrastructure without regulatory approval.

  • Kenya Power calls for ban on copper exports to curb vandalism

    Kenya Power calls for ban on copper exports to curb vandalism

    Kenya Power is urging the government to implement a total ban on copper exports in order to curb infrastructure vandalism in the country.

    Speaking during a joint stakeholders’ forum by representatives from Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK), the Scrap Metal Council and scrap metal dealers, the company’s Managing Director and CEO Joseph Siror, cited a connection between local trade in waste copper and vandalism.

    “Our investigations have revealed a direct link between vandalism and copper waste business. For example, between January and May 2022 when the government banned scrap metal dealing. we had zero cases of vandalism. However, immediately the moratorium was lifted, we saw a serious spike in vandalism cases,” stated Siror

    He further revealed that this year alone 78 transformers worth Ksh78 million have been vandalised so far.

    In 2023, a total of 365 transformers worth Ksh328 million were stolen while in 2022, 76 transformers worth Ksh68 million were vandalised.

    Siror noted that the loss constitutes only the cost of installing a new transformer but if computed the cost of unserved energy, loss of business and possibly lives, the loses are in billions of Kenya shillings.

    The MD additionally proposed the vetting of all stakeholders involved in the scrap metal industry, including local collectors, major scrap metal dealers, smelters, and exporters.

    He also called for a more robust regulatory framework in the scrap metal trade to help weed out rogue elements who are direct beneficiaries of vandalism

    “We propose that all traders dealing with scrap metal, especially copper and aluminum, must declare their sources to ensure traceability and accountability,” said Siror.