Kenya Power is set to acquire at least 2,400 meters at an undisclosed price by September as the company seeks to speed up connections and replace faulty ones.
The electricity distribution monopoly last week closed a tender where it sought manufacturers to supply the low voltage current transformers (LVCT) meters, within four months upon awarding of the deal.
Kenya Power says it needs 4,000 meters of different capacities every month and is racing to ensure enough supply of critical kits like meters and transformers to connect new customers and replace faulty ones amid a growing customer base.
Meters are used to accurately monitor electricity consumption by a range of customers.
The biggest chunk of the units will be for those with a capacity of LVCT 200/5A where the utility intends to buy 1,223 pieces followed by 561 kits of LVCT 300/5A.
“The goods to be supplied under the contract are new, unused, of the most recent or current specification and incorporate all recent improvements in design and materials unless provided otherwise in the tender,” Kenya Power says in the tender documents.
Kenya Power is also targeting to purchase 358 meters with a capacity of LVCT 500/5A and a further 125 kits, each with a capacity of LVCT 11 Kilovolts (Kv) 400/1.
The utility connected 194,654 new customers in the six months to December last year, bringing its market base to 9.85 million. Ensuring enough supply of kits like meters and transformers is key to helping Kenya Power maintain the steady growth in new connections.
Electricity sales in the six-month period (June-December 2024) grew five percent to 5,506 Gigawatt hours (GWh) from 5,225 GWh in the same period of 2023, underscoring the impact of growing customers and demand for electricity.
Its net profit for the period jumped more than 30 times to Sh9.97 billion from Sh319 million in the six months to December 2023.
Manufacturers had slightly above one month to bid for the deal to supply the metering units. The application period closed on June 3.
Purchase of the meters comes less than two months after Kenya Power disclosed a plan to buy 3,319 distribution transformers in a record two weeks upon awarding of the contract.
Kenya Power had cited an urgency behind the two-week delivery period of the kits as the firm races to connect customers who have already paid but stayed for long without electricity, ultimately driving sales and avoiding lawsuits from paid up customers.
Protracted legal tussles have in the recent past derailed the fast purchase of kits like meters and transformers, frustrating Kenya Power efforts to drive customer numbers and sales. Demand for electricity connections is rising across the country, partly driven by funding from the World Bank and others.
