County governments owe Kenya Power Sh5.67 billion in unpaid electricity bills - report
The utility’s financial results indicate that electricity revenues fell five per cent to Sh219.28 billion, while net profit tumbled by 18.7 per cent to Sh24.47 billion in the year under review.
Unpaid electricity bills by county governments have hit Sh5.67 billion, deepening financial strains on Kenya Power as efforts to recover the debt continue to stall.
In her review of Kenya Power’s performance for the year ended June 2025, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu said the arrears, which form nearly 15 per cent of the utility’s total outstanding bills, reflect persistent defaults that continue to undermine the State-owned company’s revenue collection.
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The debt has been growing over the years, despite repeated warnings from the Auditor General. Kenya Power has faced stiff opposition from counties in efforts to collect the money, with some, including Nairobi County, retaliating by demanding billions of shillings for wayleave.
“The receivables balance includes an amount of Sh5,679,805,786 due from county governments in respect of unpaid electricity bills from the 47 county governments, which continue to accumulate. Management efforts to recover the amounts have not yielded favourable results,” Gathungu said.
The utility’s financial results indicate that electricity revenues fell five per cent to Sh219.28 billion, while net profit tumbled by 18.7 per cent to Sh24.47 billion in the year under review. Kenya Power attributed the declines to a combination of the fall in revenues and reduced forex recoveries in a year when the shilling remained largely unchanged against the dollar.
Unpaid bills remain one of Kenya Power’s biggest challenges, with counties disputing the amounts and employing unconventional tactics to avoid payment. Nairobi County, for example, has on multiple occasions dumped sewage at Kenya Power offices and clamped its vehicles to force the reconnection of electricity despite accumulating bills.
The confrontations have forced Kenya Power to restore electricity supply to the county. A review of debts owed by 10 counties revealed a disparity of Sh2.37 billion, with Kenya Power’s records showing an unpaid bill of Sh3.94 billion while the devolved units put the figure at Sh1.57 billion.
In efforts to recover arrears, Kenya Power engaged debt collection firms, transferring Sh5.69 billion worth of unpaid electricity bills to them in the year ended June 2025. Prolonged struggles with unpaid accounts also compelled the utility to write off Sh19.28 billion as of June 2024.
The company further wrote to the National Treasury seeking approval to write off an additional Sh4.19 billion in unpaid bills accrued by deceased sole proprietors, as well as untraceable and dissolved companies.
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