KPLC Set For Major Changes- CS Matiang’í

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 4- The overhaul of the Kenya Power and Lighting Company that is intended to lower the cost of electricity in the country will begin immediately.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i who also chairs the Cabinet Committee on national government projects said the Government will implement the proposed reforms on KPLC by a task force appointed by the President.

In the report presented to the President on Wednesday last week, the task force chaired by John Ngumi proposed an overhaul of the KPLC be supervised by the Cabinet and a review of the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) between KPLC and private firms.

The government will expand the recommendations of the task force to undertake a wider review and overhaul of the entire energy sector, Matiang’i said.

“In the coming weeks, we will launch an aggressive program to address the challenges in the energy sector. We are certain that the prices of fuel will not only come down but even the bills and the costs of electricity we are paying will come down,” he said.

He said the high cost of power was affecting the county’s competitiveness in attracting local and foreign investments and also frustrating businesses’ profitability.

He spoke in Isinya, Kajiado county during a fund drive for the construction of the Seventh Day Adventist church South Nairobi-Kajiado branch headquarters that was also attended by his cabinet colleagues Joe Mucheru (ICT) and Eugene Wamalwa (Defence), Kajiado Governor Joseph ole Lenku, and other leaders.

The task force on KPLC blamed the high cost of electricity in the country on contracts that unfairly benefited independent power producers at the expense of KPLC and consumers and recommended the review of all such contracts within four months.

Matiang’i also challenged religious leaders to be more proactive in encouraging their followers to undertake Covid-19 jabs to enable the country to hit a critical mass of those already vaccinated as a prerequisite to the relaxation of related restrictions.

Leaders who spoke at the event urged religious leaders to play a more active role in guiding their members to make better political choices during elections.

Mucheru urged the youth to register in large numbers during the countrywide voter registration drive. He said the government will establish an additional Ajira employment centre at the proposed SDA regional headquarters that will also host a hospital and a school.