Kenyans will have to tighten their belts more as the cost of living is set to increase further. This is after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced that Kenyans will be forced to dig deeper into their pockets to foot electricity bills.

EPRA director general Daniel Kiptoo said that the changes were due to Foreign Exchange Fluctuation Adjustment. This is the second time in just a month that energy prices are going up. In a gazette notice, EPRA said that every consumer will be liable to a 148.29 cent for every Kilowatt/hour consumed.

“Pursuant to Clause 2 of part III of the Schedule of Tariffs 2018, notice is given that all prices for electrical energy specified in part II of the said schedule will be liable to a foreign exchange fluctuation adjustment of 148.29 cents per kWh for all meter readings taken in October 2022,” Kiptoo stated.

The regulator noted that the Kenya shilling has deteriorated significantly against global currencies and thus called for the adjustment. The Kenya shilling is trading at 121.21 against the US Dollar as at today morning.

Kenya Power, the national electricity distributor announced an increase in tokens prices as Kenyans lament. While responding to a tweet whereby a customer asked why he was getting only 39 units after paying 1000, Kenya Power blamed the rise in prices to inflation adjustment by the regulator.

“The regulator has adjusted the fuel cost and inflation components of the bill, hence the increase in the token prices,” Kenya Power tweeted.

Kenya Power implemented a 21% increase in the electricity prices in the beginning of October  after EPRA’s move to adjust fuel charges. In this case, the fuel charge increased to KSh 6.80 from KSh 4.63 per unit.

This is a clear departure from the campaign rhetoric by President Ruto while on campaign trail. Dr Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza coalition rose to power on the campaign platform of reducing the cost of living key among them being electricity prices.