Debt collectors may soon knock on your door if you have been disconnected from the national power grid due to default. This is because Kenya Power is seeking debt collectors to make recoveries of up to Sh. 5 billion from power users who have defaulted and gotten disconnected from the grid. “The Kenya Power requires debt collection services for an outstanding finalized debt of Sh. 5.2 billion,” Kenya Power said in a tender notice.
According to a report that appeared in the Business Daily, a Kenyan business newspaper, this debt is owed by customers who cancelled their accounts on request and those whose accounts were terminated for defaulting. Currently, unpaid Kenya Power bills amount to Sh. 20 billion.
Blow by blow account of how and why Kevin Omwenga was murdered
“About Sh. 2 billion of the debt is owed by customers in Nairobi, while those at the Coast Region owe Sh. 845.7 million. North Eastern Kenya customers have not paid Sh. 620.8 million. Customers in Western Kenya owe Kenya power Sh. 386.9 million while those in South Nyanza are being pursued for Sh. 343.07 million,” the report in the daily said.
The national power provider says that following the confirmation of coronavirus in Kenya on March 12, defaults shot up by some Sh. 3.9 billion after about 500,000 Kenyans failed to pay their electricity bills. However, the debt collectors will be targeting defaulters for the period covering up to December 31 last year.
Kenya Power is also expecting a dip in full year profit, which it has attributed to declined power consumption due to coronavirus pandemic. “The Covid-19 pandemic has adversely affected our business operation leading to a slow growth in electricity sales and an increase in financing costs resulting in reduced earnings. Based on a review of the company’s financial performance the board of directors has determined that the earnings for the financial year ended June 30, 2020 are projected to be lower than the earnings for the previous year,” said Kenya Power. However, the company has been in the red over the past few years. “
