The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC), which is more commonly known as Kenya Power has made it know that it will not be negotiating any new agreements with commercial banks and other third 3rd) parties for the selling of electricity tokens, after the previous contracts expired on the 31st of August 2022.
Observers believe that this decision will now restrict the deals to telecommunications companies.
In the words of the Acting Managing Director; Geoffrey Muli, “We have no immediate plans to bring the third parties back, maybe under a different arrangement. If the need arises then we can think about it but for now, no.”
The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC)’s current stance on the situation, is significantly different from the assurances that were made by commercial banks to their numerous customers, informing them that the decision was only a temporary one.
The Acting Managing Director; Geoffrey Muli, stated that more than ninety five (95) percent of its current customers, are on the prepaid option and use the popular Safaricom M-Pesa Paybill number; 888880. Because of this, the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) does not believe it is necessary to continue using third (3rd) parties.
The power utility company; Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) which is owned by the Kenyan government, is looking to utilize its own internal payment channels preferred by its customers using the prepaid option to efficiently fight fraud and ensure that its revenues are protected. Especially considering the fact that the commercial banks and other third (3rd) parties were earning commissions for each electricity token bought through the recently ended contracts.
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According to Geoffrey Muli, “We need to ring-fence our systems and make sure that they are not open to many people because under that arrangement you will not be imagining too much that having third parties exposes our revenue due to fraud.”
Vendit and Dynamo Digital are some of the third party options that prepaid users made use of whenever they needed to purchase electricity tokens.
In the six (6) months up to December 2021 the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) announced an impressive net income of 3.8 billion Kenyan Shillings. This is significantly larger than the 138 million Kenyan Shillings it achieved the year before.
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The profits for Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) were however, negatively affected from the fifteen (15) percent cutback in the electricity tariffs that was implemented in January of 2022. This resulted in the power utility company executing a number of measures aimed at cutting costs as it tried to generate more revenue in order to upgrade its older system and pay off its debt.
Since the contract expired, commercial banks have sent out a number of messages (Short Message Services (SMSs)), informing their customers that they are in communication with the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) adding that the decision was temporary.
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NCBA Group made it known through Short Message Services (SMSs) to its customers that, “Dear customer, the Kenya Power prepaid tokens purchase and postpaid bill payments services will be temporarily unavailable on our mobile banking channel effective Thursday, September 1, 2022.”
A number of third (3rd) parties like corner shops, cyber cafes, etc have been purchasing electricity tokens for customers and earning commissions on each purchase.
While the deals were to a certain extent providing ease for users, it resulted in the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) taking a hit in its revenues generated as a result of clashes with a number of third (3rd) party dealers as well as reprobate employees.
In 2021 investigations carried out by the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) uncovered the dishonest activities conducted by a cartel which made use of a network of unidentified mobile numbers to single out customers who are unaware via platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp and Facebook.
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There were also a number of instances where customers on the prepaid option purchased tokens through third (3rd) parties but then never received their tokens. This resulted in public agitations.
The decision by the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) to deny commercial banks and other third (3rd) parties entry into the selling of electricity tokens for its customers will result in the utility company retaining total control of the sales that have come under scrutiny as a result of questionable token tendering in the past.
According to Business Daily Africa two (2) major players have won a number of contracts with the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) over the years. Said contracts were done even amidst concerns over the tendering where it was alleged that the two (2) companies were being favoured.
The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) made it known that it has a rebuilt internal payment platform which will be able to handle token purchases made by its customers on the prepaid side.
Read Also: How To Reverse KPLC Tokens Bought For The Wrong Meter
This development, is the second (2nd) time in three (3) years that the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has stopped third (3rd) parties from carrying out purchases for customers as a result of devious deals.
Back in 2019 the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) banned third parties from purchasing electricity tokens on behalf of customers. The decision resulted in the Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek), protesting.
The Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek) believed that it was wrong for the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) to penalize all vendors because of the fraudulent activities of a selective who have also been held legally responsible.
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