The regulator has, however, set a condition that water supplying companies cut water prices first before it rolls out the plan [Photo/capitalfm.co.ke]
The cost of buying water is set to drop as the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) plans to slash power charges for pumping water at night.ERC said it is moving towards offering discounted power tariffs as an enticement for bulk water supply companies to begin pumping water late night when the demand for electricity is low.The regulator has, however, set a condition that water supplying companies cut water prices first before it rolls out the plan.The development will be a major reprieve for consumers who have for long grappled with high water charges especially in major towns due to a rise in operation costs.“We plan to offer water service companies special tariffs for them to shift to night pumping and storage. That should result in lower consumer prices,” Joseph Koech, the director of electricity at ERC said. Kenya has over 80 water supply companies.ERC in 2015 cut tariffs for street lighting by 60 percent to Sh4.36 kilowatt hour (kWh) from Sh11 between 6pm and 6am paid for county governments. The discounted charges were meant to reduce insecurity in counties and boost 24-hour economies.Kenya’s current electricity peak demand stands at 1,649 megawatts. The move to cut electricity tariffs for water pumping and ultimately retail prices will aid in the removal of some prickle from the impending rise due to introduction of value added tax (VAT) on sewerage services.The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) according to Business Daily, in March, won a long-running battle with the water services regulator to charge VAT on sewerage services, setting up consumers for an increase in monthly water bills.