Kenya Power’s New Self-service Portal to cut out fraud and brokers
Kenya Power has launched a new self-service portal for its customers to conveniently apply for electricity connections online.
The app is called ‘My Power’ and can be accessed through a phone or through the https://selfservice.kplc.co.ke/ portal using a tablet or a computer. The pilot phase saw 7,000 applications through the portal.
The electricity application process in Kenya has been filled with corruption, fraud and cartels making Kenya Power’s plan to have every household in Kenya hooked to the grid challenging. This portal is meant to cut out corruption and brokers who ask customers to pay for power connections at a fee or pay for the application forms.
Why ‘My Power’
The portal is meant to speed up connections and enhance customer experience.
According to Kenya Power Chief Executive Bernard Ngugi, online applications would boost the ailing company’s revenues by speeding up connections to new subscribers, as part of the company’s multi-pronged turnaround effort.
“The portal is in line with one of the Company’s core strategic pillars of enhancing customer experience aimed at making services more accessible to customers. The convenient application process will also help drive sales, which is among the key pillars of our turnaround strategy,” Managing Director and CEO Bernard Ngugi said.
The portal will also make it easier for Kenya Power to locate a customer’s premises in response to service requests and will minimize the time it takes to give quotations after application.
The company also plans to deploy smart meters to prevent electricity theft with an aim to reduce losses.
Electricity Application requirements
When making applications, applicants are required to submit their land ownership titles, ID cards, and PIN Certificates through the ‘My Power’ portal.
Once the application is done, applicants receive reference numbers that they can use to track their application status using USSD Code *977#.
In line with the application, the CEO said, “Electricity applications have never attracted any charges and will remain free. This digitised process will help curtail opportunities for middlemen and fraudsters to exploit customers.”
Other services customers can access through ‘My Power’
The portal is not meant for electricity applications only. KPLC Consumers can also report power outages, purchase prepaid tokens and submit their meter readings to get accurate bills for postpaid consumers.
