In a bid to save more than 800 million Kenyan shillings every year, Kenya’s sole power distributor (KPLC) has unveiled a campaign that will see customers receive their monthly power bills via text messages and or e-mail rather than its outdated hardcopy bills. The company’s acting managing director Mr. Ben Chumo estimated the cost of preparing individual hardcopy bill to about KES 35 a month translating to millions for customers using standard electricity meters. A huge chunk of Kenya power’s customers’ still use standard traditional postpaid meters which are billed on a monthly basis depending on the amount of power units consumed; thereafter, hardcopy bills are prepared and sent to the respective customers via postal means. Besides other benefits related to a paperless system, the initiative will spare Kenya power millions spent every month.
Kenya Power has come up with various initiatives aimed at improving efficiency in its services but the operations costs have annoyingly remained high prompting high electric bills to cover the same. Installation of prepaid meters in most parts of Nairobi had significantly cut operation costs ranging from staffing of meter readers to preparing customer’s monthly bills but it’s only a pilot project with minimal coverage. Speaking at the launch event, Kenya Power’s managing director Mr. Chumo urged customers to register their electricity account details in order receive emails and SMS alerts of their monthly bills rather the traditional hardcopy mail. It’s not long since the company tried unsuccessfully to increase meter connection fees in a bid to raise revenue for expansion a move that was later reversed by the vice president.
Even after posting a net profit of 4.3 billion Kenyan shillings, the company has faced major challenges that have led to a down-roll in its profits – it was a 6.5% drop in earnings in a net of 4.6 billion Kenyan shillings same period last year. The move is not aimed at denying the postal corporation its revenues but rather a timely innovation to cut the company’s expenses according to the Managing director.
How to Register and Receive Kenya Power bills via text Messages (SMS) or Email
- Customers are required to register on their mobile phones using a USSD command, Dial *551# on your phone, enter your account number, e-mail address, Identification respectively.
- Send an email to [email protected] with account number, name, mobile, email and ID respectively on the subject line
- Fill a registration form on the company’s website.
- call Kenya Power contact center on 95551 and give your details
- Fill a form from KPLC website and drop it off at any Kenya Power office or post it to P.O BOX 30099-00100 NAIROBI.
Customers registering to receive bills via SMS will not be charged.
