KENYA POWER TARGETS 55000 SME CUSTOMERS WITH SMART METERS

Kenya power Chief Executive officer Bernard Ngugi. PHOTO /LINDA MUSIIME

Kenya Power targets 55000 SME customers with smart meters

By Linda Musiime

Kenya Power rolled out a smart metering project that will benefit

55,000 customers in the Small and Medium Enterprise sector across the

country.

The Kshs.1.25 billion World Bank funded project is part of the Kenya

Electricity Modernisation Project and is slated to be completed by 30th

June this year.

The smart meters are part of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure that

facilitates two-way communication between the company and the customer.

The platform gives customers access to real time information on their

consumption patterns and billing thus allowing them to assess their

energy usage through an online customer portal.

In case of any outage, the smart meters are able to communicate

directly with the company’s National Contact Centre which facilitates

immediate resolution and enhances efficiency as the Kenya Power teams

are alerted promptly. Additionally, the smart meter also sends a

notification to the customer via SMS.

Speaking during the launch, Kenya Power’s Managing Director and CEO,

Bernard Ngugi said, “These combined benefits of error-free data, prompt

network problem identification, and audit of energy consumption will go

a long way in enhancing service delivery to our customers in the SME

sector.”

As the project covers 20% of the company’s SME customers, the company

projects to have installed the smart meters for all SMEs by the end of

the 2023/2024 financial year.

“We believe that the advanced metering technology will further enhance

customer satisfaction based on the visibility and prompt detection of

power usage and also reduce technical losses which are key to ensuring

reliable and quality supply of power,” Mr. Ngugi said.

The Kenya Power and Lighting Company PLC (Kenya Power) owns and

operates most of the electricity transmission and distribution system

in the country. The company’s customer base stood at over 7.9 million

as at the end of December 2020.

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