The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has launched a new meter reading technology aimed at boosting the efficiency, accuracy, and speed of meter data collection.
Called Optical Character Recognition (OCR), this meter reading system does away with manual typing of meter numbers and readings, instead enabling meter readers to scan meter displays for highly accurate processing of meter readings.
“Technology is a major driver of our business, and in terms of billing, specifically meter reading, we have been looking at how to make it better and more accurate. With the OCR system, the meter reader will just be required to scan the meter, and the system will pick the meter readings automatically. This will save time and eliminate human error that is likely to occur if the meter reader manually types the readings,” said Richard Wida, Kenya Power’s Commercial Cycle Manager.
The company plans to roll out the system across all 8 regions nationwide, following a successful six-month pilot program that ran in Nairobi starting in March 2025.
The technology will cover a total of 1.8 million postpaid meters.
Meter readers must take readings from these post-paid meters manually and submit them each month for billing purposes.
Beyond improving meter reading efficiency, the OCR system also aims to cut down on billing errors that stem from incorrect meter readings.
“The OCR technology is a major milestone in Kenya Power’s digital transformation journey through which the Company is aiming to strengthen service delivery and enhance customer experience. It will complement other technologies that the Company has deployed to improve service delivery and strengthen operations,” said Wida.
Kenya Power has already rolled out several technology-driven initiatives to boost service delivery, including self-service platforms (Mypower App and USSD Code *977#) that enable customers to access the Company’s services from their mobile phones.
The self-service platforms feature a self-reading option that allows postpaid customers to read their meters and submit their readings monthly for accurate billing.
“In future, we want to enable the use of OCR in self-reading so that our customers can enjoy the convenience of reading their meters with minimal chance of error,” said Wida.
Beyond the self-service platforms, the Company has also rolled out a smart metering system for large power consumers, SMEs, and selected domestic customers. Smart meters enable two-way communication, which supports remote meter reading along with disconnections and reconnections.
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