The annual energy sector statistics released by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) on Thursday show total system losses, comprising both technical and commercial, accounted for 23.47 per cent of the energy purchased, an average that exceeds the 18.5 per cent benchmark set by the authority for the financial year 2023/24.
This meant that for every 100 units of electricity that Kenya Power bought from electricity producers during the year to June 2023, it was only able to sell 77 units to consumers.
It however indicates that the financial losses arising from the difference between the allowed benchmark losses and actual losses are absorbed by the utility.
Technical losses occur naturally and consist mainly of power dissipation in electricity system components such as transmission and distribution lines, transformers, and measurement systems.
Last year, the utility firm told journalists that the higher losses during the last financial year were due to a mix of factors that included delays in the implementation of loss reduction strategies, owing to tender wars for the supply of critical materials such as meters and transformers.
Other factors, Kenya Power said, included an expanded grid and customer base without a corresponding increase in resources as well as higher instances of theft by consumers.
While some of the losses are borne by Kenya Power, it recovers the larger portion of 19.5 per cent from consumers. The higher losses are despite a current restructuring of the company expected to reduce system losses to 14.4 per cent. System loss contributes is denying customers lower electricity bills, an issue that the current Kenya Power boss John Siror, when taking over in May last year vowed to resolve.
“To address the high losses, Kenya is implementing initiatives such as transformer metering, feeder metering, smart meters, and smart grids,’’ Siror told journalists. Smart grids can help seal revenue leaks through smart metering technologies and two-way metering that bring in checks in meter bypass and tampering, illegal connections, and the issue of energy balances.
“Through efforts to prioritise the expansion and modernisation of the grid, Kenya will be able to reduce its system losses by a percentage annually