The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has gazetted three separate electricity cost adjustments that will affect Kenyan consumers for all meter readings taken in August 2026, increasing the effective cost of electricity across the country. EPRA announced new electricity charges for August. The notices, signed by Acting Director General Joseph Oketch and published in the Kenya Gazette on August 14, 2026, cover a Fuel Energy Cost Charge, a Foreign Exchange Fluctuation Adjustment, and a Water Resource Management Authority (WRMA) Levy. The three EPRA charges will add a combined KSh 4.70 per kWh to electricity bills in August 2026, comprising the fuel energy cost, foreign exchange fluctuation adjustment and WRMA levy.
Fuel and Forex Adjustments Under Gazette Notice No. 13172, EPRA announced a Fuel Energy Cost Charge of plus 351 Kenyan cents per kWh, applicable to all electricity prices set out in Part II of the Schedule of Tariffs 2023. The charge was calculated using fuel prices and generation data drawn from July 2026, during which total units generated and purchased, excluding exports, stood at 1,376,204,783 kWh. The data shows stark variation in fuel costs across the country’s generation mix. Diesel-powered stations in remote counties carried the heaviest per-unit costs, with North Horr at KSh 396.12 per kg and Rhamu at KSh 363.18 per kg. By contrast, geothermal steam charges at facilities including Olkaria IV, Olkaria I Units IV and V, Sosian Menengai, Or Power 22, and Globeleq Menengai were recorded at KSh 3.75 per kg, illustrating the pronounced cost advantage of renewable generation. Gazette Notice No. 13173 introduced a Foreign Exchange Fluctuation Adjustment of plus 117.77 cents per kWh for the same billing period. EPRA calculated a combined foreign exchange loss of KSh 1,353,331,256.08 across KenGen, KPLC, and independent power producers, spread over the July 2026 generation base of 1,376,204,783 kWh. IPPs accounted for the largest portion of the forex loss at KSh 1,039,198,441.45.
A third notice, Gazette Notice No. 13174, introduced a WRMA Levy of plus 1.50 cents per kWh, applicable only to electricity sourced from hydropower plants. The levy is drawn from an approved rate of 5.00 Kenya cents per kWh on hydropower plants with a capacity of at least 1 MW. Total units purchased from qualifying hydropower stations in July 2026 reached 344,091,009 kWh. The largest contributors included Kiambere at 103,124,030 kWh, Gitaru at 74,156,040 kWh, and Turkwel at 51,822,000 kWh. The three adjustments are gazetted monthly by EPRA in line with the Schedule of Tariffs 2023 framework, which allows for periodic revisions to electricity prices based on fuel costs, currency movements, and regulatory levies. New fuel prices In other news, EPRA announced a KSh 5 per litre reduction in the maximum retail price of diesel, effective August 15 to September 14, 2026. Diesel will retail at KSh 217.86 per litre in Nairobi, while super petrol and kerosene prices remain unchanged at KSh 214.03 and KSh 191.38, respectively. The regulator said the government provided KSh 938 million in stabilisation support to shield petrol and kerosene consumers from potential price increases.
