The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has Thursday announced that there will be a delay in token generation due to a technical hitch.
The hitch according to KPLC is affecting the prepaid token generation and postpaid bill payments.
Through a statement, the power company however noted that the issue had already been identified and restoration of normal services was in progress.
“Our team has identified the issue, and restoration of normal services is currently in progress so that customers can access the affected platforms soon. We apologise for the inconvenience caused,” read the statement in part.
Feedback from customers shows that the technical hitch on token generation could have started last night.
The hitch comes barely a month after a major power outbreak affected most parts of the country after the collapse of some towers supporting a high voltage line.
Power was restored after several hours.
In a statement, the company said four pylons supporting the power line, which connects the capital, Nairobi, to a hydroelectric dam in the central region, collapsed. It said vandalism had weakened the structures.
This isn’t the first glitch to hit the company’s payments system. In April last year, the tokens service was down for more than 24 hours – affecting thousands of homes and businesses whose units had ran out.
Small businesses hardest hit by such hitches and blackouts include salons, welding shops and laundromats among others – leading to financial losses.
Kenya Power has in the recent past sought to increase the number of customers using prepaid meters in a bid to lower the proportion of outstanding electricity bills, most of which are owed by customers on post-paid.
Kenyans owed the company about Sh29 billion in unpaid power bills as at June 2021. However, the company managed to recover Sh900 million of this as at December 2021 following roll-out of an aggressive debt collection strategy.
Kenya Power sold electricity worth Sh20.57 billion through pre-paid meters in the year to June 2021, up from Sh17.81 billion in the previous period, while Sh105.34 billion was earned from post-paid meters.
