Kenya Power Issues Update On Delay In Sending Token Messages To Customers

UPDATE: Kenya Power has announced that the delay in relaying token messages has been resolved, adding that it is expediting the disbursement of all the affected tokens to clear the backlog.

"We wish to inform all our pre-paid customers that the token message delay which was experienced earlier today has been resolved," said Kenya Power in a statement at 10.10 pm on Saturday, September 28.

"We are working to expeditiously send out all the affected tokens and clear the backlog. We request for your patience as we undertake this exercise and thank you for your continued support.

Kenya Power has confirmed that it is experiencing a delay in relaying token messages to customers.

The statement issued on Saturday evening, September 28 comes hours after Kenyans complained that they cannot get the tokens they bought to load onto the meter, which usually comes after a mobile money confirmation message that one has bought their tokens.

The outage was reported as early as Friday night, September 27 and extended through to Saturday with Kenyans unable to receive their prepaid electricity tokens through the usual channels, including mobile money services, online platforms, and USSD codes.

Despite attempts by customers to reach out to Kenya Power’s support services, resolution to the issue remained slow, leaving many wondering when the system will be restored.

Kenya Power, in response, offered alternative methods to customers in terms of purchasing the tokens.

"We wish to inform all our pre-paid customers that we are experiencing a delay in relaying token messages," Kenya Power stated.

"Customers are advised to access their tokens by dialling *977# > 1: Prepaid Servies (Token) >2: Latest Token> Select Meter or Add Meter. Alternatively, tokens can be accessed through the MyPower App which is available on Android and iOS platforms. We apologize for any inconvenience caused."

However, spot checks by Viral Tea revealed that the alternative methods were also not functional, and users on social media also reported the same. 

The outage has left them frustrated and worried about spending the rest of Saturday night in the dark with the value on their token meters dropping with each passing minute and no other way to top them up.

This comes after Kenya Power on June 12, 2024, urged all customers to update their meters to enable them to continue enjoying access to electricity. This update was part of an ongoing global exercise that targeted all prepaid meters that use the Standard Transfer Specification (STS)- a universal method to transfer tokens to prepaid meters while ensuring the security of generated tokens.

The company has set the end of August 2024 as the deadline for the update of all prepaid meters within the network in Kenya.

"A total of 7.4 million prepaid meters are targeted for this exercise. All prepaid meters that will not have been updated by the deadline date will stop accepting the tokens after the deadline date.

"Because of this, we have put in place elaborate measures to ensure that all our customers are fully empowered and assisted in updating their meters to continue to enjoy our services," said Kenya Power's Managing Director & CEO, Dr. (Eng.) Joseph Siror.

As of July, two million prepaid meters out of the 7.4 million were upgraded by the monopoly firm following the rollout of the Update Token Meter Yako campaign.