Kenya Power has launched a self-service portal to enable customers conveniently apply for electricity connections from the comfort of their locations.
Customers can use Kenya Power’s mobile phone App ‘My Power’ to apply for electricity or visit https://selfservice.kplc.co.ke/ using a computer or a mobile phone.
KP Managing Director and CEO Bernard Ngugi said that when making their applications, customers will however be required to submit land/property ownership documents, ID cards and PIN certificates through the portal. “Once they apply, customers will get a reference number instantaneously that they can use to proactively query and track their application status via USSD code *977#,” he added.
He explained that the Company will also send customers text messages updating them whenever their applications move to the next stage. “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,” said the MD.
Ngugi noted that the launch today follows a successful pilot phase during which 7,000 applications were processed through the online platform.
The self-service portal, he added, will also eliminate instances of customers falling prey to fraudsters who ask them to pay for application forms or claim they can assist customers apply for power at a fee.
“Electricity application has never attracted any charges and will remain free. This digitized process will help curtail opportunities for middlemen and fraudsters to exploit customers,” added Ngugi.
The online application is among several services accessible to customers through the self-service portal that the Company has initiated to enhance customer experience including *977# and ‘My Power’ app.
Some of the services customers can access include reporting power outages, carrying out prepaid token purchase queries, submitting meter readings to get actual monthly bills for post-paid customers, among others.
At the same time, among the efforts being put in place to enhance the new connection process, the MD noted is the full digitization of the network which is ongoing. Once fully complete, this will reduce the time taken to issue a quotation after application and make it easier to locate a customer’s premises in response to service requests.
By Wangari Ndirangu
