Kenya Power Lists Alternative Ways to Buy Tokens During M-Pesa Downtime
Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has given customers alternative ways to buy electricity tokens during Safaricom’s planned M-Pesa downtime.
This was announced after Safaricom announced it would be carrying out a system upgrade that will affect all M-Pesa services including buying electricity tokens. The maintenance will take place on Monday, September 22, from 12:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m.
Backup payment channels
According to KPLC’s statement issued on Saturday, September 20, the main paybill numbers — 888880 for token purchases and 888888 for postpaid bill payments — will be unavailable during the downtime.
Customers are advised to use alternative channels including Airtel Money, DTB Bank, NCBA Bank, Family Bank, Co-operative Bank, KCB, I&M Bank, National Bank of Kenya and Equity Bank through their mobile apps or USSD codes.
KPLC also advises customers to buy tokens in advance, warning that waiting until the maintenance window might cause inconvenience.
“We also encourage you to buy your electricity tokens in advance before the scheduled maintenance to avoid any inconvenience. We appreciate your patience and understanding,” the company said.
Safaricom’s planned upgrade
In its own statement dated Friday, September 19, Safaricom said the temporary suspension of M-Pesa services is to enhance efficiency and strengthen the platform.
“For 18 years M-PESA has been transforming lives across Kenya, connecting customers to opportunities every day. To support this and meet our promise to offer always-on, safe, secure and worry-free financial products and services we will be carrying out a scheduled system upgrade,” Safaricom noted.
The telco confirmed all services including airtime purchases will be unavailable for the three hour maintenance period.
“The timing of this maintenance activity has been planned to result in minimal inconvenience to our customers. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your continued support,” Safaricom added.
With these alternative options in place, KPLC hopes to cushion customers from any disruptions as Safaricom goes for the upgrade.
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Kenya Power Lists Alternative Ways to Buy Tokens During M-Pesa Downtime