An extra blanket is not the only thing you will require this July. You might need to put some more money in your monthly budget for Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company. Word is that the water company is going to revise not just the tariffs, but also the monthly costs of renting a meter, connection/reconnection fee and the refundable deposits. However, the company has not disclosed the exact burden that the consumer should prepare to bear. This comes after the Acting Finance Minister’s recent directive to companies to freeze any planned tariff increment until the inflation level hits a single-digit figure.

The last tariff review by the water company was done in 2009, seeing the bill go up by 55% from Sh34.50 to Sh53.80 per 60 cubic meters.

Philip Gichuki, the company’s MD says that they are still in the formulating process, part of which includes conducting a consumer survey to see how much Nairobi residents are willing to pay.

The proposed tariffs will be reviewed by Water Services Regulatory Board, who believe that the extra charge is inevitable, given that the dynamics of economy have changed over time.

This is definitely an extra burden for the Nairobi resident who is struggling to make ends meet given the hiking prices of basic commodities. Kenya Power is not planning to make it easy for you either. The company is already renegotiating for a 25 per cent adjustment from June 1.

It looks like this year is going to leave holes in the consumer’s pockets.