Thread by @mmnjug

.@SafaricomPLC is eyeing billions of shillings in annual revenues from installing smart metering systems for public water companies to help them cut leakages and theft. - @BD_Africa

The State-controlled utility firms suffer from annual system losses, with an average of 47% of the water put into their distribution network not billed due to leakages, metering inaccuracies and theft.

.@SafaricomPLC is offering technology to track water use, leakages, theft and remote reading of meters in exchange for a share of the recovered revenues.

We do have the technology that we believe can help utility companies of which Kenya Power is one of them and also water companies to be able to reduce the level of losses by creating transparency in distribution. - @PeterNdegwa_ CEO @SafaricomPLC

This is part of the telecoms operator’s plan to diversify its incomes from voice, short message services, cash transfers and payments.

.@SafaricomPLC is already talks with @KenyaPower to instal a Sh31.7B smart metering system for the utility to slash power losses in a deal that could potentially earn the telco Sh53B over eight years.

Under a draft agreement, @SafaricomPLC is set to earn 75% of the additional sales or Sh53B, with Kenya Power taking the remaining Sh17.9B.

It has the potential to earn close to Sh8.7 billion annually if it deploys the smart meters in the water sector and adopt the 75:25 revenue share model.

The Water Services Regulatory Board @wasreb says utilities lost water worth Sh11.6B in the year to June due to leakages, theft. @SafaricomPLC will build, operate and transfer the smart grids to the water firms after an agreed period. It will make the initial investment required.

Water companies have been struggling with mounting losses from leakages, theft and ageing network, which are draining almost half of water generated.

.@wasreb says that 21 counties lost 50%+ of the water they produced, contributing to an increase of Sh6/ unit cost of water billed on average. This has seen companies pass the cost to consumers, with prices having risen to Sh93/CBM consumed last year, up from Sh87 in 2019.

.@wasreb blames corruption and illegal extraction for the losses and has called for strict enforcement of rules to reduce the leakages to the maximum acceptable levels of 20 percent.

The volume of water lost is more than twice the allowed limit of 20% equivalent to what Nairobi residents and companies use in six and half months. The losses have led to reduced investments, creating a large gap between water supply and demand, leading to chronic water shortages

Currently about 20M Kenyans (30%+ of the population) do not have access to basic water services, 35M lack access to a basic sanitation service, and four million have no sanitation facilities at all and practise open defaecation.

The @wasreb report shows that water service providers served 14.7M people against a population of 25.7M people under their service area, across the 47 counties.

.@SafaricomPLC to install smart water meters that will help reduce revenue and commodity loss and theft as @wasreb the regulator says while diversifying the telco's earnings bit.ly/3EYPphl via @BD_Africa