EPRA Announces New Electricity Prices, Introduces Fresh Water Levy Charges
The Energy Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has announced three new additions to electricity bills in April 2026, affecting millions of Kenyan households and businesses nationwide.
This was announced through a Gazette Notice released on April 24, attributing these charges to foreign exchange movements, water resource levies, and the cost of fuel used to generate power.
“PURSUANT to Clause 2 of Part III of the Schedule of Tariffs, 2023, 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 Plus 123.41 Cents per kWh for all meter readings taken in April, 2026,” stated the Notice.
EPRA confirmed that consumers will see a Foreign Exchange Fluctuation Adjustment, a Water Resource Management Authority (WRMA) levy, and a Fuel Energy Cost Charge (FLCC) reflected on meter readings taken throughout April 2026.
The forex adjustment alone adds 123.41 cents per kilowatt-hour to electricity bills, a figure derived from exchange gains and losses recorded by KenGen, Kenyan Power, and Independent Power Producers (IPPs), totalling over Ksh 1.3 billion in March 2026.
As per the total exchange figures, KenGen recorded a gain of Ksh 14.26 million, Kenya Power posted Ksh 453.2million, while IPPs contributed the largest share at Ksh 874.78 million, all calculated against 1.3 billion units generated in March.
The WRMA levy adds a further 1.54 cents per kilowatt-hour, a charge linked directly to electricity bought from hydropower plants with a capacity of at least one megawatt operating across the country.
Twelve hydropower stations are included in this calculation, including Gitaru, Kamburu, Kiambere, Kindaruma, Masinga, Tana, Wanjii, Sagana, Turkwel, Gogo, Sondu Miriu, and Sangoro.
They collectively supplied 334.69 million units in March 2026 at an approved levy of 5 Kenya cents per kilowatt-hour.
The most significant addition, however, is the FECC, which pushes an extra 347 Kenya cents per kilowatt-hour onto bills, calculated from the actual fuel prices paid by power stations burning diesel, gas, and geothermal steam to keep the national grid running.
“All prices for electrical energy specified in the Schedule of Tariffs will be liable to a Fuel Energy Cost Charge of Plus 347 Kenya cents per kWh for all meter readings taken in April 2026,” EPRA Acting Director-General Dr. Eng. Joseph Oketch confirmed in the gazette notice.
On the other hand, consumers in remote, off-grid areas are set to feel the sharpest pinch, as those regions depend almost entirely on diesel-powered stations, where fuel costs are significantly higher than in grid-connected towns supplied by geothermal or hydropower sources.
Turkana County tops the list of expensive power zones, with a diesel fuel price of Ksh255.48 per kilogram, followed closely by Lamu County at Ksh251.58, and Homa Bay at Ksh238.24.
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Other high-cost locations include some parts of Lamu County, Samburu, Mandera, Takaba, and Wajir, all of which rely on remote diesel plants where the cost of trucking in fuel drives electricity generation expenses well above the national average.
On the lower end of the cost spectrum, areas connected to geothermal plants such as Olkaria benefit from dramatically cheaper steam charges, recorded at just Ksh 2.59 per kilogram.
This makes Nairobi, Nakuru, and other central-grid towns comparatively shielded from the harshest fuel-related surcharges.
The three charges combined represent a notable increase in what consumers will pay per unit in April.
The 347-cent fuel charge will carry the heaviest weight, followed by the 123.41-cent forex adjustment, and the relatively modest 1.54-cent water levy rounding off the additions.
EPRA Announces New Electricity Prices, Introduces Fresh Water Levy Charges
