Consumers are voicing concerns over what they describe as opaque and punitive practices in the use of Kenya Power prepaid meters, with many reporting that stolen or faulty meters are billed at full replacement cost, leaving households to absorb losses for events entirely beyond their control and fuelling frustration over a system meant to provide clarity and convenience.
Others describe a bewildering pattern in which token purchases appear to be eroded retroactively, with deductions applied months or even years after meter replacements, often without prior notice or explanation, reducing the value of electricity already paid for and creating uncertainty in household budgeting.
Reports also indicate that the cost of prepaid meters has surged sharply, with some consumers citing increases of tens of thousands of shillings, a rise that disproportionately affects ordinary families while exposing structural gaps in pricing transparency and oversight.
Some households are also claiming that errors in meter readings or replacements sometimes lead to unexplained debits, such that tokens purchased in good faith are partially nullified, prompting suspicions of mismanagement or system inefficiency that Kenya Power is yet to address publicly.
Below is what one consumer shared under the request of anonymity, explaining how his meter was replaced after a fault, only to later discover that credits already purchased had been partially deducted without explanation, leaving them with less electricity than paid for and forcing repeated trips to resolve discrepancies that should have been automatically corrected.
“Hello Cyprian. Hope you are fine. Just wana know kama ushawahi ongea kuhusu KPLC? People are conned na hii company.
(1) The prices of prepaid meters zimeshoot mbaya sana from 0 – 23k.
(2) Stolen meters are also charged 17,400; imagine you have been stolen from, so inabidi tu uachane nayo na mwizi anapeleka kuuza kwingine. Just imagine umeibiwa meter 10?!! That’s 174,000/=
(3) After replacing a faulty meter, they debit you like 100 units, and sometimes even when you have tokens left. If your meter has been replaced kuanzia 2021, then right now they are debiting it. Uki purchase tokens za 500, you will get za 400.”
