Power disconnected at City Hall over Sh1.2 billion debt

 

City Hall is relying on generators for power after electricity supply was cut over a pending Sh1.2 billion bill.

For the third day running, generators were used in selected offices at City Hall Annex and City Hall after Kenya Power disconnected supply.

Governor Mike Sonko’s spokesman Ben Mulwa admitted the county government had not settled bills owed to Kenya Power but blamed it on the delay in the passing of the budget.

"At the moment we cannot make a request for funds since the Controller of Budget cannot approve any until the county budget is passed and uploaded on the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS),” Mulwa said.

Staff have been forced to use the staircases while some offices have been closed.

The generator running at the moment is said to supply power to the county assembly and offices which are located at City Hall on the wing hosting the governor’s office.

Mulwa said the county was in talks with Kenya Power to have restore supply for smooth operations.

He said City Hall was considering a debt given the utility firm owes the county Sh800 million in unpaid rates.

‘Talks are ongoing with Kenya Power but they insist the county pays around Sh170 million before we both look at who owns who and what amount, ’Mulwa said.

This is not the first time operations at city hall have been interrupted due to unpaid electricity arrears.

Back in June 2018, Kenya Power cut off supply to City Hall over a Sh990 million debt.

The firm said it had disconnected only two of the more than 5,500 accounts belonging to City Hall after it failed to respond to requests to pay or provide any proposal for payment of the accrued bills.

“The Nairobi city county government has for several years been indebted to Kenya Power and has consistently failed to repay, despite various meetings and agreements between the two parties,” Kenya Power said in a statement.