Lawmakers pins down KPLC to answer audit queries where is accused of financial impropriety of paying Lake Turkana Wind Power before supplying power to the nation
They failed to answer the financial prudence of Sh 160 billion in question that previous regime hurriedly paid LTWP during campaign period
National Assembly Committee on Energy has pinned down Kenya Power and Lighting Company over the monopolistic nature of the meter boxes and other productsΒ
In an attempt to maximise revenue collection within the sector and commercialize it’s services, Mwala Member of Parliament Eng Vincent Musyoka, braced the KPLC of a bill to commercialize meter boxes just like Safaricom’s Mpesa shops.
“This committee is concerned about how meter boxes can only be found at KPLC. The bill is coming to parliament soon where we shall force you to license Kenyans from every part of the region to open shops for KPLC’s products just like MPESA. The bill is at final stages to become a law
Qualified engineers will be licensed to connect Kenyans to power grid. They will just be selling, and updating meter boxes as well as selling transformers to Kenyans without people walking all the way to KPLC’s offices,” Kawaya breathed fire
He advised the KPLC’s Managing Director Dr Joseph Siror that they should get into business of collecting money from authorised dealers, focus on commercializing aspect of Kenya power
Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Energy, KPLC management were pressed hard to explain how their framework policy is on compensating Kenyans who have already paid for power connectivity
According to the issues raised in the Auditor General’s annual reports and financial statements for the year ended 30th June 2023, it indicated over 21,000 Kenyans have not been connected to power over years even after paying a Sh35,000
In their response to the committee, KPLC admitted of existing gaps that there’s no legal framework of compensating Kenyans who’ve paid and failed to connect them with power, however, they said, sometimes are forced by customers
“What policy in place for you not to connect and supply customers with power after paying Sh35,000? If a customer pays Sh 35,000 today, will he or she wait for the next 100 years or 11 years until the last mile connectivity reaches their area! Kawaya asked the General Manager Infrastructure and Development Mr Kennedy Owino
He described that with the fluctuating value of the shilling, the cost will be higher forcing customers yet again to cough some cash without knowing the fate of their first deposits