Kenya Power says estimation of electricity bills to reduce with new meter reading plan

By Kepha Muiruri For Citizen Digital

 Published on:  September 13, 2019 14:31 (EAT)

        

An electricity bill.

Kenya Power is seeking to improve its meter reading coverage to 90 percent to minimize complaints related to the estimation of bills.

The move sits within a wider service review scheme underpinned on additional infrastructure.

“This new structure allows us to monitor electricity sales to our smallest business units and effectively manage commercial losses,” Kenya Power Acting MD Jared Othieno said in an editorial published in a local daily on Friday.

At the same time, the firm says it has identified internal weaknesses within its token vending machinery.

Kenya Power said it has since sought for the services of an independent auditor to fix the gaping hole in pre-pay consumer billing.

“Timeliness and accuracy in billing are critical factors in building customer confidence, winning their trust and meeting their expectations,” added Mr. Othieno.

The disclosure by Kenya Power comes on the backdrop of an extended torrid couple of years for the electricity distributor.

The firm has found itself in cross-hairs with its consumers over the alleged manipulation of monthly bills.

Inflated bills to consumers first came into the limelight at the close of 2017 and was subsequently followed by a class litigation by Nairobi based lawyer Apollo Mboya.

It in effect stopped the recovery of an approximated Ksh.10.1 billion in backdated bills.

A High Court decision saw Kenya Power customers receive a month window in October to appeal against the billing errors.

A section of post-pay electricity consumers had found themselves facing outrageous amounts in pending bills from erroneous billing.

The ghost of inflated bills would strike consumers again in June this year in what presently makes for an ongoing investigation.

It was alleged that there was collusion between Kenya Power staff and crooks to milk billion of shillings from token-buying consumers.

Auditor General Edward Ouko had already fingered consumer billing as an ongoing audit matter on Kenya Power’s part in 2017.

The scale-up on physical meter readings sits within the orders of Energy CS Charles Keter who sought to end the ‘guess work’ billing of electricity consumers in 2018.