Small businesses that will opt to run their businesses during off-peak hours will pay less in electricity costs if a new tariff by Kenya Power is approved.

Kenya Power wants to introduce a time-of-use (ToU) tariff for small businesses that use more than 30 units of electricity on average per month.

The proposal comes amid uproar over Kenya Power's proposal to increase electricity costs by over 78 per cent for households.

Kenya Power says the special tariff for SMEs will see businesses pay just Sh10.54 per unit during off-peak hours.

This is half of the Sh21.08 per unit that they will pay for power usage during high-demand periods.

However, according to Kenya Power, the tariff will only kick in once the business that has registered for this tariff has consumed the amount of electricity that they use on average during the month.

This for instance means that a Kinyozi that consumes an average of 100 units per month, will start enjoying the new tariff during off-peak hours once its consumption hits 100 units.

Currently, this tariff is a preserve of large industrial customers who consume more than 15,000 units of power monthly.

Kenya Power has submitted the proposed ToU to the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority for approval.

The tariff is expected to take effect on April 1 if given the nod.

Besides, category C12 industrial customers will enjoy an off-peak tariff of Sh7.51 per unit compared to Sh15.02 during normal periods.

The move is part of the country's efforts to boost electricity consumption during off-peak hours.

This is especially at night between 12 am and 4 am when domestic and commercial activities are at their lowest.