October 5, 2024

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Power outage at City Hall over unpaid Sh1.5b electricity bill

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Operations at Nairobi City Hall and other county government offices have been disrupted over power blackout since last Sunday.

This is because of a never-ending tussle between Nairobi County and Kenya Power over a multi-million-shilling electricity bill.

Several offices and institutions have been forced to suspend activities as a result of power blackouts due to City Hall’s failure to pay the debt which now stands at Sh1.5 billion.

“It is a shame that we cannot even hold assembly sittings because there is a blackout.

This is the capital city of Kenya, and it’s sad that we cannot conduct our business,” said Parklands MCA Jayendra Malde.

The only City Hall backup generator is now serving the county assembly and the governor’s office, while the rest of the offices remain in darkness.

 City-Hall and Kenya Power have been wrangling over debt arrears since 2014, with the county government claiming Kenya Power also owes it millions in rent arrears.

The county government however admits that it owes the power firm Sh691.58 million in electricity bills and not Sh1.5 billion.