Kenya Government Approves Consumers to Pay Power Bills in US Dollars

Kenyan government has granted approval to the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) to implement a system allowing consumers to settle their electricity bills in US dollars. This decision comes in response to challenges posed by fluctuations in foreign exchange rates impacting the company’s revenues.

The Kenya Power and Lighting Company, a major utility firm in the country, has announced plans to enable its customers to pay electricity bills in US dollars, euros, and sterling pounds.
The Finance Manager of KPLC, Stephen Vikiru, explained that the company is currently in the process of establishing accounts to receive foreign currency payments from consumers.
This development follows a prolonged engagement between KPLC, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), and the Ministry of Energy.

According to Vikiru, “We now have the necessary approvals. The company is in the process of opening collection accounts that will be interfaced with our payment systems.”

The decision to allow bill payments in foreign currencies comes amidst the continued depreciation of the Kenyan shilling, which reached a low of KSh 163 against the US dollar in January 2023.

In its audited financial results for the year ending June 2023, KPLC cited a challenging macroeconomic environment, with the Managing Director, Joseph Siror, attributing the financial loss to the weakening shilling and the high cost of power purchases from electricity producers.

While revenue from electricity sales witnessed a 21% growth from KSh 157.3 billion to KSh 190.9 billion, operational costs more than doubled to KSh 15.02 billion during the same period.

KPLC attributed this increase in operational costs to fluctuations in the foreign exchange rate, as most loan portfolios are denominated in US dollars.