Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has confirmed a nationwide disruption affecting its prepaid vending and electricity bill payment platforms. The outage, caused by a system interruption, has rendered customers unable to purchase tokens or pay bills through any channel.
The utility posted the alert on its official social media accounts on Thursday, July 30, 2026, apologizing for the inconvenience and promising to update users once services are restored. No specific timeline for resolution was provided.
Impact of the Disruption
- The breakdown occurred shortly after a widespread blackout that left many parts of Kenya without electricity for hours.
- Customers reported M-Pesa payments being deducted without receiving token confirmations from Kenya Power, raising concerns over lost funds.
- Both residential consumers and businesses expressed frustration, with some forced to close operations due to inability to recharge meters.
Public Reaction and Calls for Accountability
Many users criticized Kenya Power for lacking contingency plans to maintain service continuity during system failures. Some social media posts highlighted the hardship caused, especially for students sitting exams and businesses losing income.
Kenya Power urged affected customers to seek assistance via the USSD code *977#, hotline 97771, or email Customercare@kplc.co.ke while repair efforts continue.
The utility's dual challenge of a blackout followed by payment platform failure has intensified calls for improved infrastructure resilience and customer service responsiveness.
