State-owned electricity firm distributor Kenya Power (KPLC) net earnings took a nosedive to KSh 262 million for the financial year ended 30th June 2019. This is compared to KSh 3.3 billion posted in the previous period.
The power utility firm attributes this to the high cost of purchasing electricity from two hydro-electric plants that have been commissioned. The cost of purchasing electricity rose from KSh 52.8 billion to KSh 70.9 billion.
Its balance sheet size also shrunk from KSh 332.3 billion in 2018 to KSh 328 billion even as consumers continue to pay high bills for electricity.
The firm’s hedging against foreign exchange losses also went south with gains declining from 9.3 billion to a paltry KSh 860 million.
These financial results come after the state-owned power distributor and transmission firm issued a profit warning in 2019.
Transmission and distribution costs went down marginally from KSh 44.5 billion in 2018 to KSh 41 billion while fuel cost dropped to KSh 18.3 billion in 2019 from KSh 23.6 billion the previous year.
In September 2019, KPLC issued a profit warning that is net earnings would drop more than 25 percent, citing a huge increase in non-fuel costs.
While water levels at most hydro-power dams have improved, Kenyans still have to contend with high power bills, especially those in the middle and low income brackets.
Even the scrapping of the electricity fixed charges has not translated to cheaper tokens, which vary depending on units purchased by a consumer and the time of the month.
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