Kenya Power on spot over electricity meters tender
Procurement watchdog flags new meters tender by Kenya Power awarded to a questionable company
Procurement watchdog flags new meters tender by Kenya Power awarded to a questionable company.
The national procurement watchdog has ordered Kenya Power to justify its decision to award a new electricity meters supply tender to a firm that breached a previous contract three years ago.
In a letter to Kenya Power managing director Joseph Siror, the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) noted that the company, Smart Meters Technology Ltd, had an order to produce 91,000 smart meters by July 24, 2020, but had not done so as shown by a purchase order report.
Smart Meters Technology is among four local companies that have been awarded a lucrative Sh5.4 billion contract to provide 711,740 energy meters, raising concerns over the legitimacy of the decision given that the firm had not yet completed the delivery of meters under an earlier contract with Kenya Power.
“Based on the tender data sheet ITT 3.7 (2) and ITT 40 (20 (c), bidders with more than 50 percent outstanding Kenya Power orders were not eligible for the tender and award was to take into consideration timely delivery schedules and satisfactory performance of at least 50 percent delivery on previous orders,” Patrick Wanjuki, the director-general of PPRA, said in the letter to the Kenya Power boss.
The observation by Mr Wanjuki follows a complaint lodged before the board by one Benedict Kabugi alleging breaches in the tender.
Smart Meter Technology was awarded two lots, one for Sh1.6 billion and another for Sh687 million.
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The regulator further pointed out that Kenya Power would have saved costs had it clustered the individual items as lots and awarded the lowest evaluated bidder per lot.
The watchdog has also questioned how Kenya Power decided to purchase meters for two financial years under an annual procurement plan and one-year financial budget.
“A review of your procurement plan, however, does not demonstrate whether the subject procurement was planned as a multiyear procurement as provided under section 53 of the Act. Therefore, the justification given for planning to procure meters for two financial years under an annual procurement plan and one-year financial budget contradicts the provisions of the procurement law,” the PPRA said in the letter.
The power utility firm had defended itself saying that by the end of April this year, there was a backlog of 50,000 meters for new connections and replacements and that the backlog was growing by the day.
According to Kenya Power, 50,000 meters are required by critical and essential providers such as hospitals, health centres, dispensaries and schools, government installations, domestic consumers, and companies and who have paid for the meters.
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