900,000 with bad bills won’t be cut off - ERC
What you need to know:
- Of the 6.5 million consumers, 900,000 were affected by the errors arising from a Kenya Power system upgrade done last year.
- Mr Oimeke said the glitch did not affect industrial consumers or those on tokens but the ones using the old type of meters.
Close to a million electricity consumers were sent erroneous bills last month, the Energy Regulation Commission has said.
Of the 6.5 million consumers, 900,000 were affected by the errors arising from a Kenya Power system upgrade done last year, ERC Director-General Pavel Oimeke said.
“If you have a contentious bill, you should not be disconnected from the power system until it is resolved," he said.
Speaking at a consumer dialogue forum at Royal Court Hotel, Mombasa, on Wednesday, he directed the firm to resolve all the queries.
BILLING SYSTEM
Mr Oimeke also said the ERC had identified a way to address the high cost of electricity, which he attributed to “system losses” due to movement of power from one point to another.
“Those who were overcharged during the system upgrade should report to Kenya Power for redress.
“There was a period of transitioning from the old billing system to the new billing system, resulting in a number of customers being affected.”
He said the glitch did not affect industrial consumers or those on tokens but the ones using the old type of meters.
SAVING
Mr Oimeke said the ERC directed the utility company to amend the bill of anyone complaining about tariffs and inflated bills as a result of the transition.
On power losses, Mr Oimeke explained that “There are losses, what I can call power theft in collusion with some of our employees who are not good. "...We want to ensure those billions are saved and given back to consumers in the form of reduced tariffs.”
Meanwhile, the ERC said it will ensure that all companies dealing with petroleum employ more locals than expatriates.
