More pain for Kenyans as power tokens prices rise
Kenyans are set to spend more on electricity in the coming month following the impending lapse on former president Uhuru Kenyatta’s order to reduce the price of the service.
Latest data from Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) shows that the price has risen by 16.8 percent in December, coming at a time when households are battling high cost of food prices.
The 15 percent cut implemented in January 2022 enabled the cost of buying 200 units of electricity a month to drop from Sh5,185 in December to Sh4,373 in January.
The increase in the cost of electricity will let loose pricing pressure across the economy as producers of services and goods factor in the higher cost of energy.
This comes as the Kenyan energy regulator kept fuel prices unchanged for the month of December.
In the latest review, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) said the cost of a litre of petrol will retail at Sh177.3 per litre, diesel Sh162 and kerosene Sh145.94 in Nairobi.
The regulator said it would retain the current prices despite the landing cost of imported fuel increasing by 2.65 percent for petrol, 6.56 percent for diesel and 6.01 percent for kerosene in November.
To many Kenyans, it will be a Christmas like no other. In the last two years, the country has seen Kenyans sink below the poverty line, weighed down by the Covid-19 pandemic which decimated businesses and led to job losses.
With a significant number of middle class known for heavy spending during the festivities, the usually long queues at malls could just end up with basics in their bags.
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