This archive report was first published on 12 July 2020.
Kenya Power has suffered a significant financial blow in the past four months, losing Sh5.6 billion in electricity sales due to reduced consumption caused by COVID-19 restrictions.
According to Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter, electricity consumption declined by 14.8% between March and June 2020, resulting in a decrease of 341 GWh in energy consumption. This led to a reduction of Sh5.6 billion in electricity sales revenue.
Mr. Keter attributed the loss to the COVID-19 restrictions that have forced businesses to cut down their activities, resulting in plummeting profits across various industries.
While stay-at-home orders increased electricity consumption by households by 5%, this only accounts for 10% of Kenya Power's revenues, which are largely generated from heavy commercial consumers.
Kenya Power's 7.1 million customer base includes 6 million domestic customers consuming less than 100 units or Sh200 per month worth of electricity. However, the company's revenue is primarily generated from one million heavy commercial and SME customers.
As a result, the firm has issued its third profit warning in a row, indicating that its net earnings will decline by at least 25% of last year's profit of Sh262 million, which was the worst in 16 years.
