Govt lowers power tariff by less than a shilling
Apr 07, 2020
The new tariff is contained in a schedule released on Monday signed by the agency’s chief executive officer, Eng. Ziria Tibalwa Waako.
The Electricity Regulatory Authority has reduced the end-user tariff for domestic users by less than a shilling payable between the second quarter of the year (between April and June) in comparison with the charges incurred between the first quarter.
The new tariff is contained in a schedule released on Monday signed by the agency's chief executive officer, Eng. Ziria Tibalwa Waako.
The schedule shows that domestic consumers shall be charged sh750.9 for every unit consumed. This represents less than a shilling reduction from the previous quarter tariff of sh751.7.
Commercial users whose load does not exceed 100 amperes shall averagely be charged sh645.6, nearly a sh4 reduction from sh649.4 charged the previous quarter.
Medium industrial consumers are to pay sh4 less following reduction of their tariffs from sh575.2 the previous period to sh570.9.
Large industrial consumers have seen their charge reduced by sh1.4 to sh361 from sh362.4 the previous period while extra-large consumers are to incur half-a-shilling less from the previous charge of sh302.2 over the same period next year.
This quarter's slight reduction, according to ERA, mainly on the account of reduced international crude oil prices and increased dispatch from cheaper Nalubaale and Kiira hydropower plants.
The international crude oil price as at the end of February 2020 was $55.49 per barrel compared to $60 per barrel that was used in the determination of the base tariffs (first quarter).
"This represented a reduction in international fuel prices by 7.51% from the first quarter, which had a significant impact on the tariff," Waako said in the notice.
She also noted that there was more energy was consumed from the (cheaper) 380 MW Nalubaale and Kiira generation plants operated and maintained by Eskom.