Unmasking the rot inside Kenya Power

For years, Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has stood as one of Kenya’s most essential parastatals, the sole distributor of electricity to millions of households and industries.

Yet, beneath this strategic national utility lies a deeply entrenched culture of corruption, patronage, and cartel-driven procurement networks that have hollowed out its efficiency and credibility.

The rot within Kenya Power is no longer a matter of speculation, it is systemic, well-organised, and sustained by both internal actors and powerful political interests.

At the heart of Kenya Power’s dysfunction lies its procurement department, a multi-billion-shilling playground for cartels that have perfected the art of manipulation.

In our Part One of Three-Part investigative series dubbed ‘Unmasking the rot at Kenya Power’, we lay it bare how Kenya Power awarded contracts worth a whooping over Sh2.3billion through the Supplies Branch, an obscure department tasked with procuring items used by several government institutions, which, when the Public Procurement and Disposal Act 2007 (PPDA 2007) first came into force in 2007, it was largely expected that the Supplies Branch would be scrapped and competitive bidding done by all State agencies.

Investigations by The Informer Media Group established that Kenya Power awarded tenders worth billions of shillings using the Supplies Branch without publicly advertising for common consumer goods for competitive bidding process.

Among them include East Africa Meter Company that was awarded Sh1.54billion tender for the supply of cables, fuse link wedges and smart meters.

On the other hand, Briskmove Investment Ltd was paid Sh0.4billion for the supply of Surge arresters, fuse carriers, stay rods and copper earth rods while Waterfall Agencies was paid 176million for the supply of Double cutout, fuse link wedges and circuit breakers.

Doublelink Enterprises Ltd and Skydrop Merchants were each paid Sh60million and Sh74million for the supply of conductors, cables and fuse link wedges respectively.

From using the obscure Supplies Branch to award contracts worth billions instead of individually sourced goods and serviced advertised competitively to inflated tenders for transformers, cables, and meters to ghost suppliers who deliver nothing but get paid in full, the company’s procurement system has become a conduit for looting public resources.

Past investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and Parliament’s Public Investments Committee have in the past unearthed patterns of collusion between senior managers and politically connected contractors. In many cases, tenders are seemingly pre-determined long before they are advertised, with the bidding process seemingly to serve as a mere formality. Those who resist the system, especially mid-level procurement officers or whistleblowers face intimidation, transfers, or outright dismissal.

The corruption extends beyond tendering. Procurement cartels have mastered ways of creating artificial shortages of essential materials like transformers and prepaid meters to justify emergency purchases at inflated prices. These deliberate bottlenecks enrich a few insiders while crippling service delivery and driving the company deeper into financial distress.

In the past, KPLC has been on the spotlight over internal procurement flaws including purchase of obsolete items worth billions still remaining in stores as dead stock.

In July this year, the National Assembly Public Investments Committee on Commercial Affairs and Energy chaired by Pokot South MP David Pkosing raised serious concerns over Kenya Power’s financial health, inflated electricity tariffs, failed infrastructure projects, and glaring IT vulnerabilities.

Lawmakers also raised concerns about procurement irregularities, including a Sh55.9 million direct contract awarded in 2018 to an advertising firm. While management claimed it was a temporary solution, the Auditor-General flagged it as a breach of the Constitution and procurement laws.

“This smells of vested interests. Public procurement must be competitive and transparent,” Pkosing said.

Frustration mounted when Wajir East MP Yussuf Farah raised a case involving a diesel generator in his constituency that has never functioned properly since its commissioning three years ago.

“According to KPLC the generator lacks batteries and fuel, yet residents are billed for services they don’t receive and also pay taxes,” he lamented.

KPLC admitted the generator was meant to complement solar energy but failed due to logistical and supply issues. MPs called it a “white elephant” and demanded answers.

“This kind of neglect is inexcusable. It reflects a deeper systemic problem. We will not allow public funds to go to waste,” said Pkosing.

To get to the bottom of such failures, the committee announced it would conduct fact-finding missions to Wajir and other counties with stalled or underperforming energy projects.

“This is not about politics. It’s about justice for Kenyans. Electricity is a basic service not a profit-making venture for a few well-connected individuals. Kenyans deserve answers, transparency, and value for money,” Pksosing

Despite some progress in turning around its finances, KPLC remains on the spot over governance and accountability.

With public confidence dwindling and MPs turning up the heat, the power utility now faces its greatest test yet: to reform or risk losing the trust of the very people it is meant to serve.

Committee members raised red flags over serious weaknesses in the company’s IT systems.

The session, chaired by MP Pkosing revolved around the utility’s audited financial statements for the financial years 2018/19 to 2022/23.

Legislators established a worrying picture of a company battling deep-seated structural and operational issues, despite serving as the backbone of the country’s power supply.

According to the Auditor-General’s report for the year ending June 30, 2019, the company’s current liabilities stood at Sh115.2 billion against assets of Sh44.2billion, leaving a negative working capital of Sh71billion.

This marked the third consecutive year of deficits, raising doubts about the company’s ability to remain solvent.

KPLC’s Mananging Director Eng. Joseph Siror attributed the financial crisis to capital-intensive projects implemented between 2014 and 2018 under the government’s universal electrification agenda and the ambitious 5,000MW power generation plan.

“Most of the funding came from medium-term commercial loans, yet the projects we undertook were long-term in nature. Delays in tariff reviews and high system losses only worsened the cash flow situation,” Siror explained.

The Auditor-General cited delayed system log reviews, lax password controls, and super-users with unrestricted access; three of the four core systems lacked proper activity monitoring.

KPLC’s ICT team cited the deployment of IBM QRadar, Microsoft Defender, and Oracle audit trails to enhance security, but the Committee chairman wasn’t satisfied.

“Unrestricted super-user access is a ticking time bomb. It creates room for fraud and cyber breaches. These vulnerabilities must be addressed urgently,” Pkosing warned.

Some of the contracts awarded by Kenya Power through Supplies Branch in 2024 alone