Revealed: MP Suleiman Shahbal among businessmen linked to high cost of electricity

The identity of directors and beneficiaries of companies believed to be behind the high cost of electricity in the country has been unmasked.

This as the National Assembly energy committee's push to have Independent Power Producers (IPPs) revise their prices downwards hit a snag as they declined to oblige.

The IPPs sell a kilowatt unit of power to Kenya Power five times higher than the supply from KenGen.

Business Registration Services (BRS) Director General Kenneth Gathuma on Thursday told the MPs that companies were using a legal loophole which only requires companies registered after 2017 to provide evidence of the registration status to keep the shareholders faceless.

This comes more than a year since the government began talks with IPPs to renegotiate the power purchasing agreement entered between them and Kenya Power with a bid to lower the cost of power.

Little, if any, progress seems to have been made, with the IPPs now demanding that the government removes all taxes on HF4 oil used by the companies, if they have to review the prices downwards.

The IPPS are currently selling a kilowatt unit of power to the power transmission company at Ksh.25 per unit, five times compared to what KenGen is selling the same unit at.

Mr. Gathuma, who appeared before the energy committee, removed the veil from the directors, shareholders and beneficiaries of these companies who have been using a loophole in the law to remain faceless and continue chocking Kenyans with the heavy electricity costs.

Some of the local prominent personalities unmasked as beneficiaries or directors of the IPPs include Mombasa-based businessman and EALA MP Suleiman Shahbal who is a co-director with Francis Koome Njogu.

Other local directors working with foreigners in reaping huge benefits from high power cost include Christopher Mugo Kibati, Keneth Ndegwa Kamaitha, who partnered with two Israeli nationals and one American in the power business.

Others are George Kagunyi Njenga, Kenneth Namunje Onyango and Simon Guyo Mwacharo among others.

The IPPs include Lake Turkana Wind Power Limited, Iber Africa Power (EA) Limited, Orpower 4inc, Kipeto Energy Plc, Tsavo Power Company Limited, Rabai Power Limited and Thika Power Limited.

Others include Gulf Power Limited, Vestas East Africa Limited, Triumph Power Generating Company Limited, Noora Power Limited, Industrial Promotion Services (Kenya) Limited.

Some of the companies however have foreign directors and shareholders whose details remain unknown.

The committee now wants Attorney General Justin Muturi to step in and write to the foreign countries, asking for details of those individuals.

The faceless beneficiaries are nationals from Israel, Denmark, Spain, South Africa, Nigeria, United States of America, Norway and the United Kingdom.