This week Kenyans were shocked to learn that consumers of electric power from the monopolistic Kenya Power owe the company a whooping Kshs. 8.1 billion in backdated bills.

According to the company, the bills accrued from expenses on fuel and were not factored in erstwhile bills as cost of fuel.

It is understood the company failed to factor in the costs in a bid to save face for the incumbent government that was struggling with the burden of inflation on consumer goods and services.

Various Kenyans started receiving inflated bills from November 2017 and posted complaints to the company, prompting the revelation.

This has led to public outcry, with a section of Kenyans complaining that this is nothing short of a ploy to recover monies embezzled in the just concluded election.

Legal firm Apollo & Company Advocates has now filed a legal class action against Kenya power in what it terms “abuse of dominant position, monopoly and buyer power.”

In the suit, addressed to the Competition Authority of Kenya, the legal firm accuses Kenya Power of:

1. Abusing its dominant position in the market by directly or indirectly imposing purchase or selling prices or other unfair trading conditions.
2. Misleading consumers with respect to price of services.
3. Engaging in unconscionable conduct.
4. Infringing on consumers’ right to have goods and services of reasonable quality and to the information necessary for them to gain full benefit from goods and services.

The law firm is sseeking Competition Authority of Kenya’s intervention to give consumers immediate interim relief from payment of the inflated bills.

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Meanwhile Lawyer Apollo Mboya has requested any Kenyan with an inflated electricity bill to help in the class action by forwarding the bill to switchoffkplc@gmail.com