Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has registered the largest loss in decades of 2.98 billion shillings for the year ending June 2020. – By Enock Mukoma
This is shocking given Kenya Power has no competition and has a say in determining its own prices and terms.
The utility company has released the audited results, registering a loss from anet profit of 292 million shillings in the 2019 financial year.
With the path KPLC has taken, recovery might be an illusion unless something is done.
Ironically, Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), a company that relies on KPLC to grow by supplying it with power, continues to grow in profits.
The company posted 10.5 billion shillings in profits from 7.88 billion shillings in 2019.
Over the financial year to June 2020, Kenya Power reported revenues of 133.18 billion shillings.
This was an 18.45 percent growth compared to the 112.43 billion shillings that the company raked in, in the year to June 2019.
What is really ailing Kenya Power? Is it poor management or corruption?
President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered all the KPLC Board to step down and he appointed a new one in an effort to shake up a company that used to make profits in billions of shillings.
Last week, news emerged that Kenya Power has applied to EPRA to be allowed to increase electricity costs by 20 percent as a recovery strategy.
The news indicated that EPRA had given Kenya Power a go-ahead to burden Kenyans with the 20 percent increase.
Kenya Power issued a statement to dispute claims that it had been given a go-ahead to increase electricity bills by 20 percent saying the matter was still under review.
In 2019, for the financial year ended June 30, 2019, the profits for Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) dropped by 91 percent with the company attributing it to high costs during the period.
The company took a long time to announce the results saying it was waiting for President Uhuru Kenyatta to appoint the Auditor General who was supposed to satisfy the results before they are released it
