Reconsider power cuts strategy - DCI urges Kenya Power

The Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Mohamed Amin, has urged the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) to reconsider its approach to handling unpaid electricity bills from government institutions.

Amin warned that indiscriminate power disconnections could have dire consequences.

Speaking before the Parliamentary Committee on Administration and Internal Security at County Hall, Amin emphasized the need for dialogue rather than abrupt power cuts, noting that some of the affected institutions provide essential services to Kenyans.

“KPLC should reconsider switching off power to government institutions. They once disconnected us—a move we considered ill-advised and totally unnecessary,” said the DCI.

Amin further highlighted the critical nature of some of the facilities affected by the disconnections.

“Hospitals and other essential institutions must not be put at risk due to outstanding bills when dialogue can be employed to find amicable solutions.”

The issue of unpaid electricity bills has been a long-standing dispute between KPLC and various government agencies, with the Nairobi City County Government also caught in the controversy.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja echoed Amin’s concerns, emphasizing that cutting off power to critical institutions can, in some cases, be a matter of life and death.

“We have institutions that owe us a lot of money in wayleaves and land rates, but we don’t disconnect their services,” Sakaja stated.

“Police stations and other government agencies, for instance, owe us close to a billion shillings, yet we have never clamped them. The same approach should be applied by KPLC.”

The governor called for a more structured approach to resolving and recovering outstanding bills, suggesting that the county and national governments should negotiate rather than resort to punitive measures.

“We owe the national government, and they owe us. The best way forward is to sit down and reconcile the debts. If we owe each other, we should offset the bills instead of taking extreme actions like power disconnections,” he added.

The ongoing debate over KPLC’s handling of unpaid bills has raised concerns, particularly regarding essential services such as hospitals, security installations, and public offices.