Utility company Kenya Power says it will effect the 15 per cent cut on the cost of electricity to customers in January.

“In fulfilment of this pledge, Kenya Power wishes to inform its customers that the first 15 per cent reduction in the cost of power will be implemented on power consumption in the month of December, 2021,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.

“This will be reflected in power bills covering that period, which, as is normal practice, will be sent to consumers in the following month, in this case January 2022.”

The company says the cut, which represents the first part of a 30 per cent cut to power costs, will be delivered through actions focusing on system and commercial losses.

On Sunday, President Uhuru Kenyatta underscored his government’s goal of delivering cheaper electricity to Kenyans with a promise of a 30 per cent cut to costs by the end of March next year.

The second phase of cheaper power will be delivered through tariff negotiations between government, the utility and independent power producers (IPPs).

Earlier this week, Energy Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma said more than half of IPPs contracted by Kenya Power have joined the negotiation table which is intended to cut payouts to the private electricity generators to result in cheaper electricity costs.

“There is goodwill which is being demonstrated on both sides. It is a process, every agreement is signed with individual investors and we will be speaking to each,” she said on Tuesday.

“There is no shifting of goal posts, this is a process and we are targeting this in our mandate as a ministry to provide clean, reliable and competitive power to Kenyans.”

The quest for cheaper electricity was initiated by a presidential appointed taskforce on the review of power purchase agreements which recommended that the government enter negotiations with the dealers to cut their output prices.