Electricity bill can consume up to a quarter of your budget. Reducing the cost of electricity will help you save money you’d have spent to buy tokens.

We received this complain from one of our readers about his electricity bill:

“Hello. Kindly enquire from your followers whether this is normal. -Nimehamia kwa ploti mpya July 27 -Pale nikapata 8 units of token -within that day n date 28 zikaisha….we noticed ni bulb mbili zilikuwa high voltage we changed n bought the most economic one -I bought units za 500, weee zikaisha haraka ….tukaona maybe ni shower, tukaacha kutumia… -nikaeka mia mbili, hiyo ilieda two days -juzi tumeeka 500 ingine…units left as we speak ni 4units. Is it the same to everybody? Within two weeks bill iko 1200? I only have wifi, tv na kupiga pasi morning….hadi dispenser nilizima.”

Answer to the question above:

There are high chances the caretaker and other tenants are benefitting from your meter. You pay and they consume. The best thing to do is to stop buying tokens for about 2 weeks and see what will happen. Ensure that the electricity switch in your house is switched off. During that two weeks, see how other tenants and the caretaker are behaving. If they look suspicious and asking uncomfortable questions, then they were taking advantage of you by consuming your electricity.

Here are the best ways to reduce the electricity bill

Switch off electricity when not using it

Ensure that you switch off electricity if not in use especially during the day.

Buy energy saver bulbs

Energy saver bulbs will consume less electricity, hence saving you from paying high bills.

Avoid using heavy energy usage items

Things like freezer, iron box, heaters and television consume a lot of electricity. Use them when necessary. Something like a fridge should be switched off at night. Make sure you buy food and other items which you consume that day and avoid putting them in the fridge.

You should also program on how to use the iron box. Ironing clothes should be done once a week instead of every single day.

You should also learn how to use cold shower especially during the day.

You should have prepaid meter where you buy tokens

Electricity bill for postpaid meters is often exaggerated. You might consume electricity worth Ksh 1,000 but the people at Kenya Power will give you a bill of Ksh 3,000. To be sure what you are paying for is what you consumed, change the meter to prepaid.

Don’t share your meter with anyone

There are people who will request to share your electricity and pay half of the cost. Don’t allow that to happen. Some people will use excess electricity, forcing you to pay even more.

Relocate to low and middle income estates

KPLC does not bill estates the same. High income estates like Runda and Muthaiga pay more than low income estates like Kibra.If there is a way you can indicate that you live in areas like Kibra and Pipeline, your bill will be low.