PlantmarginReading your Kenya Power bill, line by line
An industrial electricity bill in Kenya has more lines than most managers look at. Each one has a cause, and several of them can be managed.
The base charges
Energy charge. kWh used × the rate for your tariff category. Under the EPRA schedule effective July 2025, a CI2 customer (11 kV supply) pays KSh 12.16 per kWh, and a CI1 customer (415 V) pays KSh 13.44.
Demand charge. The highest 30-minute average demand in the month (kVA) × the demand rate: KSh 700 per kVA for CI2 and KSh 1,100 for CI1. One bad half-hour sets this charge for the whole month.
The monthly pass-through charges
EPRA publishes these every month, per kWh:
- Fuel energy cost charge, which follows the cost of thermal generation. It was KSh 3.22 per kWh for October 2026 readings.
- Foreign exchange adjustment (FERFA), which was 87 cents per kWh.
- Inflation adjustment.
- Water resource levy, a little over one cent per kWh.
Levies and VAT
- The REP levy is 5% of the energy charge.
- The EPRA levy is 8 cents per kWh.
- VAT of 16% applies to:
- the energy and demand charges;
- the fuel cost charge;
- FERFA and the inflation adjustment.
What a plant can influence
| Line | What drives it | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | kWh used | Cut waste per unit produced; move flexible loads off-peak if you have TOU metering |
| Demand | The highest half-hour | Stagger motor starts; watch the 30-minute window live |
| Power factor | Reactive power | Correct PF to 0.95 or better to avoid the surcharge |
| Pass-throughs | National generation mix | Nothing directly, but every kWh saved avoids them too |
For a typical 11 kV plant, the all-in cost works out at about KSh 20–22 per kWh once every line is added. That is the figure to use when valuing a saving, not the base energy rate.
Check the bill against your own meters
The utility's meter is the billing meter. A second meter on your incomer, such as the one Plantmargin installs, lets you check the following every month:
- the kWh;
- the maximum demand;
- the reading dates.
Differences of 1–2% are normal between meters. Anything larger is worth a query.
Plantmargin recalculates the bill line by line from the plant's meters and the current EPRA rates, and reconciles it with the utility's bill.