Kenya Power Promises Blackouts, Harsh Penalties To Bill Defaulters

Post-paid electricity consumers with bill arrears will have their power disconnected without further notice, Kenya Power has announced.

In a notice published in the dailies, Kenya Power says that customers whose power is disconnected will have to pay requisite re-connection fees for their accounts to be reinstated.

“The Kenya Power & Lighting Co. PLC (KPLC) hereby gives notice to all its post-paid customers to immediately settle any outstanding electricity bills to avoid their accounts being disconnected. Customers who will not have paid their outstanding bills by the date when the bill is due will have their supply of electricity disconnected immediately,” the notice read.

Kenya Power warned against self-reconnection, which it says is an offence which attracts a minimum fine of Ksh1 million and/or a jail term of not less than one year.

Read: Kenya Power Hopes To Boost Revenues Through Electric Car Charging

“All payments should be made exclusively through the Company’s USSD platform *977#, Paybill Number 888888, its banking halls, payment partner agents, or commercial banks listed on the Company’s website,” added the notice.

This comes at a time the company is experiencing hard financial times due to reduced cash inflows.

As of August 2020, Kenya Power was seeking debt collectors to help recover outstanding bills of Ksh5 billion from customers who have been disconnected from the grid.

According to a recent report by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu, Kenya Power recorded a loss before tax of Ksh7.04 billion for the year ended June 30, 2020.

Its liabilities of Ksh117.5 billion far outweigh its current assets of Ksh42.63 billion by Ksh74.85 billion.

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