Kenya could be staring at cheaper power bills after president William Ruto pass into law amendments on the Excise Duty bill, that among others seeks to remove 25 per cent on imported transformers
The government made a U-turn and scrapped the tax it had imposed barely four months ago to protect local assemblers of electrical transformers.
The National Assembly passed the Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in what the legislators say is a major step towards reducing electricity costs and boosting infrastructure development across Kenya.
The Bill, sponsored by Leader of the Majority Party Kimani Ichung’wah, was signed by President William Ruto’s on Thursday afternoon
The legislation, published on March 6, 2025, and introduced in Parliament on March 16, sailed through its final reading in the National Assembly on April 15, 2025, with key amendments aimed at lowering the cost of energy and aligning tax policies with regional standards.
A central feature of the Bill is the removal of the 25 per cent excise duty on fully assembled imported electric transformers and their parts.
This move is expected to significantly reduce electricity connection costs for consumers and ease financial pressures on the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC).
“The removal of the excise duty will enable the Kenya Power and Lighting Company to procure adequate transformers within its current budget and prevent or reduce power blackouts due to insufficient stocks of transformers,” the deal reads in part.
