Kenya Power warns of prepaid system disruption from Sunday
A prepaid electricity token machine provided by Kenya Power at an apartment in Nairobi.
The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has announced scheduled maintenance in its prepaid system that will affect the purchase of electricity tokens from Sunday, June 2 to Monday, June 3.
According to the company, the interruption is part of a system upgrade, which is aimed at improving service delivery to its customers.
“The prepaid token vending system will be unavailable from 10pm, Sunday, 2nd June to 10 pm, Monday, 3rd June to enable us to upgrade our systems for improved service delivery,” the Company said in a notice issued on Monday.
Kenya Power said during the downtime period, customers will not be able to buy electricity tokens from all vending points including Kenya Power offices, M-PESA Paybill number 888880, Airtel Money and banking channels.
“We therefore wish to advise our pre-paid customers to buy enough tokens before then to avoid any inconvenience.”
In February, the prepaid system faced disruption which saw customers expressing their difficulty in accessing tokens, a case that was confirmed by the company as it rectified the fault a day later.
"Following a recent system disruption that led to delays in the processing and delivery of prepaid tokens, we are glad to inform our customers that the issue was resolved on Monday. Customers can now conveniently buy their tokens through M-Pesa paybill no 888880,” the notice read.
However, President William Ruto recently asked Kenya Power not to disconnect the homes which have been illegally connected to the national grid, and instead, connect them with meters which will see them contributing to paying taxes.
The move also comes as illegal connections and electricity theft continue to pose a big challenge to the company, slums being some of the areas where illegal connections have been highly reported.
As this comes, the last mile connectivity contract deal is expected to take place at State House, which will ensure that the remaining part of the country which is yet to be connected to the national grid is connected.
Early this year, President Ruto said that his government has set aside Sh49 billion which will revive the last mile connectivity.
The last mile connectivity was part of mega plans in the last regime of retired president Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, which was aimed at lighting every home.
