The National Assembly has directed the Auditor-General to look into the systems that manage electricity meters after it emerged that Kenya Power set-ups have lapses in IT controls.
At the same time, the National Assembly Committee on Commercial Affairs and Energy said it has begun analysing an audit of power purchase agreements (PPAs) signed between Kenya Power and independent power producers (IPPs) before making recommendations on ways to lower the cost of electricity.
National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Commercial Affairs and Energy chairperson David Pkosing.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
The team chaired by Pokot South MP David Pkosing said it would use the report by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu to engage Kenya Power MD Joseph Siror on queries on the capacity charge on the PPAs.
Kenya Power Managing Director Joseph Siror when he appeared before the Senate Energy Committee at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi on October 17.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Ms Gathungu questioned the Sh87.5 billion spent on power purchase, which includes Sh47.5 billion relating to capacity charge as per the PPAs.
Mr Pkosing stood down the query during a meeting with Dr Siror on Wednesday to enable the committee get the audit on PPAs that was tabled in Parliament in March 2023.
“I am pending the query until we get the audit. We will use the full forensic audit to interrogate this matter, which we suspect PPAs are the culprit in the high cost of electricity,” Mr Pkosing said
“IPPs could be behind the rise in costs and we want to establish why they were loading their profits on the backs of already burdened Kenyans.”
“We want to change the idea of power purchase agreements,” he said.
The forensic audit revealed variances in prices for electricity computed using the PPA formula between Kenya Power, the IPPs and some consultants.
Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
Kaloleni MP Paul Katana said the committee should summon the Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi and other “influential persons of interests” to get answers.
“The Cabinet Secretary should appear alongside Dr Siror to tell us how many companies have been licensed, the kind of agreements and the amounts paid to them,” he said.
