The national government and seven counties in the Central Rift region are among the Kenya Power defaulters, with a debt of Sh1.1 billion that is rising by the day.
Domestic account holders in the region are the highest defaulters at about 75 per cent of the overdue debts.
Small businesses, which are still struggling with the effects of a prolonged pandemic for the past two years, are also on the list of defaulters and owe the parastatal millions of shillings.
Interestingly, the seven counties – Nakuru, Kericho, Bomet, Narok, Baringo, Nyandarua and Samburu – continue to enjoy uninterrupted power supply even with outstanding bills. The bills remain unpaid although money is set aside for them in the counties’ annual budgets.
Industry experts say unpaid bills are driving Kenya Power deeper into financial woes even as it battles governance issues.
Counties and the national governments account for about four per cent of Kenya Power’s debts, about Sh44 million, said Regional Manager David Syengo.
“We have received a positive response in the settlement of the outstanding electricity bills from a majority of our customers. This has complemented our internal efforts in revenue collections and debt reduction by Sh300 million. By the end of this year, we want our debt portfolio to reduce to Sh800 million as we aim at zero debt,” said Mr Syengo.
Pay bills on time
He said the company adopted a strategy that will see their more than one million customers pay their bills on time to help boost electrification programmes in the region.
That includes installing smart meters, and about 8,000 such gadgets have been installed in the region. He added that the company will “continue sourcing these meters because they give good results and have reduced electricity theft by 13 per cent”.
In the 2020/2021 financial year, the region connected 112,000 customers to electricity, and in the current one it plans to connect 82,800 more.
Meanwhile, 13 electrocutions that resulted in eight deaths were reported in the region.
To curb such deaths, Mr Syengo said, the company was co-opting chiefs and their assistants to sensitise residents on the dangers of tampering with electrical installations. BY DAILY NATION