Kenyans should brace for a sharper rise in electricity costs after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) introduced three fresh charges that will inflate May 2026 power bills, piling more pressure on already strained household budgets and businesses.
In a notice issued under the Schedule of Tariffs, 2023, the regulator announced a Foreign Exchange Fluctuation Adjustment of 110.33 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), effectively adding about Ksh1.10 to every electricity unit consumed.
“PURSUANT to Clause 1 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 Fuel Energy Cost Charge of Plus 306 Kenya cents per kWh for all meter readings to be taken in May, 2026,” stated EPRA.
Consumers will also shoulder a Fuel Energy Cost Charge of Ksh 3.06 per kWh, meaning every unit consumed will attract slightly over Ksh 3 in additional costs linked to thermal power generation.
A third charge, the Water Resource Management Authority (WRMA) levy, will add another Ksh 1.35 per kWh on electricity generated from large hydroelectric plants under the Seven Forks scheme along the Tana River. The levy affects hydro power stations serving counties including Machakos, Embu, Kitui, Murang’a and Kiambu.
According to EPRA, the forex adjustment is meant to recover exchange rate losses incurred by electricity producers and suppliers, which rose to Ksh1.17 billion in April 2026.
The losses were recorded by Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and the Epic diesel plant, all of which rely heavily on dollar-denominated fuel purchases, loans and equipment imports.
EPRA recovers the losses through the monthly Foreign Exchange Fluctuation Adjustment, a pass-through charge imposed on consumers to cushion power generators against currency depreciation linked to Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and external financing obligations.
The regulator said the forex adjustment was computed using electricity generated and purchased in April, which totalled 1.275 billion kilowatt hours.
Meanwhile, the fuel charge remains tied to the cost of running diesel-powered thermal plants. In Habaswein, for instance, diesel prices stood at Ksh306.73 per kilogram in April, significantly increasing generation expenses passed on to consumers.