Gov’t seeks withdrawal of VAT on electricity bills

By Maryanne Nyambura

The Energy Ministry is mooting plans to engage Treasury on scrapping Value Added Tax charged to electricity consumers in Kenya.

The ministry says this is part of a long term strategy to cushion consumers burdened by inflated power bills.

This comes even as the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has been directed to harmonise tariffs within three months.

“The work of the ERC will make it easier for tariff interpretation,” Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter said.

On its part, the Kenya Power and Electricity Company (KPLC) says through a mobile application, its consumers will be able to get clarity on meter readings.

The company expects that the move will reduce cases of inflated bills that are currently plaguing their customers.

Currently, there are 4 million electricity consumers on the prepaid meter system.

KPLC has also been given 30 days to streamline the process of token generation after a recent outage of the system for three days that sparked uproar in several quarters.