Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has recently launched a Smart Metres campaign nationwide to eliminate cartels in the electricity supply chain.

Tuesday evening, Kenya Power and Light Company (KPLC) invited qualified bidders to supply Smart Metres, which will be the new face in Kenyan households.

PHOTO | COURTESY KPLC

In recent months, the Joseph Siror-led power lead parastatal has been embroiled in legal wranglings over meter tendering, which has stalled the contentious Smart Metre project.

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The power supplier requested bids to "supply of single phase and three phase smart meters" in a document signed by Dr. John Ngenoh, General Manager of Supply Chain at Kenya Power, and obtained by Citizen Digital.

Kenya Power has restricted Smart Metres to "Local Metre Manufacturers and Assemblers" to enforce President William Ruto's Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

PHOTO | COURTESY KPLC

Kenya Power's decision comes in the midst of power cartels siphoning tokens and cheating the power supply of its reimbursable.

Kenya Power is expected to purchase more than 200,000 Smart Metres, which will be implemented by January 2024.

Based on dollar volatility and FX escalation, the project is anticipated to cost Ksh.1.6 billion.

Kenya Power CEO and MD Joseph Siror testified before the National Assembly's Energy Committee on Tuesday, lamenting projected budget cuts that could undermine last mile connection, which aims to connect every Kenyan household to the power grid.

"We have seen the proposed budget cuts and there are more than 10% of our budget," Siror stated.

Kenya Power will lose Ksh.4.9 billion in proposed budget cuts due to last-mile connectivity alone.