A man has sued Kenya's electricity distributor over a Sh616,000 two-month bill

david nganga

September 11, 2018 12:00 AM

Alan Donovan says Kenya Power charged him the outrageous amount for the month of April and May this year

A man has sued state-run distributor, Kenya Power, for billing him Ksh616,000 ($6,160) for electricity used at his home over a period of two months.

Alan Donovan, the proprietor of African Heritage House, says in his petition that Kenya Power charged him the amount for the month of April and May this year, after which he raised a complaint with the power company requesting to have it re-evaluated and corrected.

Kenya Power, however, clarified that it had all along erroneously under-billed him for the period between November 2016 to March 2018, leading to the colossal amount.

Mr Donovan told the court that on September 4, Kenya Power disconnected electricity supply at his home without notice after he failed to pay the amount.

Monopoly

He accused the firm of abusing its monopoly by disconnecting electricity for backdated and unexplained amounts without addressing valid concerns that he raised.

The petitioner claims that the erroneous billing has been ongoing since 2008 and efforts to have it rectified by the firm have proved futile.

Mr Donovan is seeking the court’s protection noting that High Court had already issued orders in a case filed by lawyer Apollo Mboya stopping backdating of bills.

david nganga