Kenya Power will surcharge its contractors who do not complete their work within reasonable or set timelines while repeat offenders will be blacklisted, the utility firm has warned.
The firm said yesterday that its employees have borne the brunt of dealing with angry customers, who are unaware that the contractors are sometimes the reason for the supply delay.
“Sometimes clients complain of slow response to matters raised or delay in restoring of power but they do not know that it is the people we contract that cause the delay. We take the flak for that,” said Kenya Power Coast regional manager Hezekiah Mwalwala
He was speaking during a forum for Kenya Power contractors held in Mombasa yesterday.
“Contractors will in future be engaged based on their ability to adhere to safety standards and timely delivery of services, among other things," said Mwalwala.
Kenya Power recently stepped up safety and work standards for its contractors to minimise accidents and seal cash leaks following increase in costs due to transformer losses alone, amounting to over Sh75 million monthly.
The company has stepped up its engagements with contractors, following millions in losses due to transformer problems attributed to poor workmanship or low quality transformers.
“We lose about 120-150 transformers every month,” said Noah Omondi, an engineer in charge of maintenance during a workshop for the firm's contractors in Mombasa yesterday.
Kenya Power manager in charge of safety, health and environment John Guda said each transformer costs about Sh500,000, excluding cost of replacements and other logistical costs.
“However, we are now procuring better quality transformers. We are also improving the required standards for contractors who we partner with,” said Guda.
Contractors are expected to adhere to the new set of strict safety standards or risk being blacklisted by the company.
Last month, two employees of a firm contracted by Kenya Power were electrocuted in Nakuru after power was switched on while they were still working on a line. The contractor was later suspended by Kenya Power CEO Ben Chumo pending investigations into the matter.
Guda warned contractors against compromising standards and quality, adding that risking safety of the public will not be tolerated by the firm.
He said there have been 11 reported cases of electrocutions across the country in the last five years alone.
However, a public campaign against vandalism has yielded results as there has been a significant reduction of reported cases, according to Guda.
“Transformers are now being placed above power lines to prevent people from reaching them,” he added.
Kenya Power patrol teams are also being deployed to safeguard transformers, which are also secured using razor wires.
said contractors who also do not complete their projects within the given timelines risk being surcharged for the extra days they take to complete their work.