Kenya: MPs Push For Kenyans To Buy Electricity Meters Directly From Private Firms

Members of Parliament have hatched a plot to end Kenya Power monopoly by giving Kenyans the leeway to connect power without buying electricity meters from the utility firm.

The National Assembly Energy committee said it is developing a Bill that will ensure there are more licensed and authorised entities to sell electricity meters to ensure that consumers do not depend on KPLC for the product.

Committee chairman Vincent Musyoka revealed the plan during a meeting with the management of Kenya Power to discuss a number of queries raised by the Auditor-General for financial year ended June 2022/2023.

Among the issues flagged in the report are 21,000 consumers who have been waiting for KPLC to connect them to the grid but haven’t been successful due to a shortage of meters.

To cure such, the committee says it will remove all barriers that deter other firms from selling the meters directly to Kenyans.

The lawmakers say Kenya Power should not be the only authorised dealer for the meters.

However, the meters that will be sold by other dealers will have to be coded by Kenya Power and certified by the monopoly’s engineers before installation.

“We will have shops across the country selling meters to Kenyans, so that you just walk into a shop, buy the meters and call an authorised Kenya Power engineer to connect the electricity for you without necessarily going to Kenya Power offices,” Mr Musyoka said.

“This will not only increase Kenya Power revenues as they will have more people to collect power from but also reduce the time Kenyans have to wait to have electricity. For instance, we are now dealing with people who have waited for power for 11 years yet they have already paid,” the chairman said.

“We are working on a Bill as a committee and will soon be introduced to the House. It will contain all these changes,” Mr Musyoka said.

The committee dismissed assertions by Kenya Power that it’s the shortage of meters causing connection delays.

Source: Business Daily