Kenya Power abandons its plan to phase out post-paid meters

Kenya Power KPLC, a power distribution monopoly, has withdrawn from its earlier plan to phase out post-paid meters, which had stated that it would end payment defaults.
Instead, it has invited bids to supply nearly 200,000 post-paid meters, which indicates that the plan will shift to pre-paid meters.
The company has invited manufacturers and suppliers of these gadgets to bid for a lucrative tender that ended on January 17.
“Kenya Power & Lighting Company Plc invites qualified bidders to bid for (199,157) single-phase postpaid meters,” Kenya Power said in a tender notice from Joyce Ochieng, general manager of its supply chain.
The utility company said earlier that it would change electricity bill defaulters from post-paid meters to pre-paid meters in order to reduce the ever-increasing customer debt.
The cash-strapped company hopes to add more customers through the return of its last mile connection project, which connects homes to the national grid under a subsidy program. It aims to accelerate electrification.
The utility company earlier blamed its mountain of debt on non-payment of electricity bills by post-paid users, a shortage of meter readers, and disputed household and industry bills.
According to official data, as of 2016, 7 out of 10 Kenyan electricity customers use prepaid meters.
In 2018, the company attracted much attention due to bill inflation and failure of the electronic payment system, which caused the inability to recharge tokens on prepaid meters.