Over the past few years,KPLC customers have complained over the number of tokens they are given .They have even gone ahead to call the electricity supplier thieves.Now,it’s not that they are thieves, the company make their calculations based on several factors beyond the consumers’ control.
Today you can buy 40 tokens for Ksh1,000 and the following month,KPLC gives you 15 tokens for the same amount.Then you wonder,what the hell are these guys doing?!!!Before you judge them,here is the explanation for that variation.
There are different rates per unit depending on your power consumption level in a given month. For the first 50 (0.1 – 50) units in a month, the rate is Kshs 2.50 per unit. After 50 that is anything above 50 (50.1 – 1500) units, the rate is Kshs 12.75 per unit. Thereafter the cost is Kshs 20.57 per unit for any unit above 1500 units. This variation is done to make it possible for the low income earners to purchase power fairly relatively to high income earners.
So in a month, the first 50 units are sold cheaply let’s call it X (2.5/-). Any other units on top of 50 will be charged at X+Y shillings. Where Y is 12.75/- minus 2.5/- = 10.25/-
For example let’s say you have bought 80 units, the first 50 will be charged at X shillings per unit that is 2.5/- (cheaper) then the other 30 will be charged at X+Y which is 2.5/- + 10.25/- which is = 12.75/- (less cheaper/expensive). Remember Y is the added shillings on top of X which was the original rate. Also don’t forget the monthly standing charge of ~175/- as long as you have a meter whether you use stima or not. So the moment you have reached the first 50 units threshold in a month and you want to add more units within the same month, expect to use “more” money for less units, based on the above rating explanation.
Also consider your power consumption circuit or system components and ensure that they are capacitive (consuming less power) not inductive (consuming too much power). Kama tokens zako zinaisha haraka than you expect, call a qualified electrician and tell him to check if the earth lines, that is the grounded supply neutral line is terminated with the neutral line from the house. If in case they have a continuity, then tell him to avoid #double_bond because it provides a double paths through which power is leaking into the ground unnecessarily; instead, bonding should only be done once, from the house. You can also inbox for a #power_factor_corrector_installation.
NB. It is unwise to purchase very many units that you will not complete within a month. Just purchase that quantity which will last you for a month. And then you can thank me later.
