NAIROBI, Kenya—When Kenya Power announced plans to close all payment counters in its banking halls by June 2027, the move was presented as a natural progression in the utility firm’s digital transformation journey.
The company says more than five million customer interactions now take place through digital platforms every month, while traffic at its physical offices has dropped significantly. To Kenya Power, the numbers signal a customer base increasingly comfortable with mobile payments, online services and self-service applications.
But for many consumers across the country, the announcement has raised a different question: Is Kenya Power moving faster than its customers?
The transition comes at a time when electricity remains one of the most sensitive household expenses for Kenyan families. In recent years, consumers have faced rising electricity costs, fluctuating token values and periodic disruptions affecting prepaid electricity purchases. During system outages, many customers have found themselves unable to purchase tokens, leaving homes and businesses without power for hours or even days.
For these consumers, the concern is not necessarily the shift to digital services itself, but whether the systems replacing traditional service channels are reliable enough to meet everyday needs.
The Promise of Digital Convenience
Kenya Power argues that digital platforms have transformed how customers access services.
Today, consumers can purchase tokens, pay postpaid bills, report outages, submit meter readings and access account information without visiting a Kenya Power office. The company is also investing in smart metering technologies and automation tools designed to improve billing accuracy and operational efficiency.
From a business perspective, the transition makes sense. Digital systems reduce operational costs, shorten service delivery times and allow utilities to serve larger customer bases more efficiently.
The move also aligns with Kenya’s broader push towards a digital economy, where government agencies, banks and private companies are increasingly shifting services online.
However, digital transformation is rarely measured solely by technology deployment. Its success often depends on whether users can confidently and consistently access the services being offered.
The Digital Divide Challenge
Kenya has one of Africa’s most developed mobile money ecosystems, making digital payments familiar to millions of citizens. Yet significant challenges remain.
Elderly customers, residents of remote areas and people with limited digital literacy may struggle to navigate mobile applications and online platforms. Others face challenges linked to smartphone ownership, internet connectivity or access to technical support when systems fail.
For these groups, physical service centres often provide reassurance and direct human assistance that digital channels cannot easily replace.
Beyond this, some consumers and applicants have raised concerns about the transparency and consistency of the electricity connection and prepaid meter installation process.
In parts of Mombasa and other urban areas, residents say they have applied for prepaid meters and waited for extended periods—sometimes many months—without clear updates on the status of their applications. At the same time, some residents point to large multi-unit developments in urban centres that appear to receive multiple prepaid meters within shorter timelines, although such claims vary and have not been independently verified.
These contrasting experiences have fuelled broader questions about whether access to public utility services is always applied uniformly, or whether factors such as project scale, documentation readiness or technical requirements influence processing speed. Without publicly available data on application queues and installation timelines, these perceptions remain difficult to independently confirm.
Consumer Frustrations
The debate over Kenya Power’s digital strategy is unfolding against a backdrop of growing public frustration over electricity costs and service delivery.
Many consumers continue to question why the value of purchased tokens appears to fluctuate significantly from month to month. Others have struggled to understand changes in tariffs, taxes and levies that affect the number of units received after payment.
When token purchasing systems experience disruptions, frustrations often intensify. For households that rely entirely on prepaid electricity, an inability to purchase tokens can quickly become a crisis affecting cooking, lighting, refrigeration and business operations.
Such experiences have reinforced public concerns about the risks of relying exclusively on digital channels.
While technology can improve convenience, consumers expect reliability, transparency and immediate support when problems arise.
Is Public Education Keeping Pace?
Kenya Power has acknowledged the importance of customer awareness and plans to deploy roadshows across several regions to educate consumers on digital services, fraud prevention and electrical safety.
The company has also indicated that staff currently working at payment counters will be redeployed to customer service and customer education functions.
These measures may prove critical in bridging the gap between technology rollout and user readiness.
Digital transformation is not simply about introducing new systems. It is also about ensuring that users understand how those systems work, where to seek assistance and what alternatives exist when they fail.
Experts in customer experience often argue that successful digital transitions require continuous engagement rather than one-off awareness campaigns. Consumers need clear communication, responsive support channels and confidence that they will not be stranded when technical problems occur.
Kenya Power Balancing Act
The utility’s decision reflects broader global trends in which service providers increasingly favour digital-first operations. In many respects, Kenya Power’s strategy mirrors changes already seen in banking, telecommunications and government services.
Yet electricity differs from many other services because it is an essential utility. Access to power affects households, schools, hospitals and businesses alike.
The coming year will therefore serve as a critical test—not only of Kenya Power’s technology systems but also of its ability to build trust among consumers.
The real question is whether Kenya Power can ensure that convenience, reliability and customer support evolve at the same pace as its digital ambitions.
If the answer is yes, the transition could become a model for utility modernisation in Kenya. If not, the company risks deepening frustrations among the very customers it hopes to serve.
