Kenya power company makes prepaid electricity meter push

According to Kenya's Daily Nation, the Kenya Power and Lighting Company Ltd. is expanding its prepaid electricity meter program in the East African country. Power customers will be able to pay for electricity in advance via funds loaded onto "scratch" prepaid cards and converted into "utility units," the online news outlet said.

KPLC contracted with South Africa prepaid meter supplier Actaris for the initial delivery of 250,000 meters to be installed in largely domestic utility customers. KPLC's reported goal is to transition 1.4 million customers to prepaid meter usage, using approximately 300,000 meters installed at a cost of 2.5 billion Kenyan shillings (approximately $30 million).

KPLC embarked on the prepaid meter initiative to increase its revenue base and reduce the incidence of unpaid customer bills and illegal consumption of electricity in poorer neighborhoods in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya, the Daily Nation said. The initiative follows KPLC's prepaid meter pilot program that ran in Nairobi and outlying areas from April 2009 to February 2010.

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