Ethiopian Electric Power Annuls Agreement with Kifiya

ADDIS ABABA – State-run Ethiopia Electric Power (EE) says on Thursday that it has terminated bill collection service agreement with Kifiya Financial Technologies. 

Accordingly, the state-utility firm will abandon the use of Kifya’s over 40 Lehulu payment centers to collect bills from its customers as of July 3, 2019.

Lehulu is a one-stop-shop for various utility payments operated by Kifiya Financial Technologies, a public-private partnership (PPP) created to handle all services related to utility payments in Ethiopia.

In a statement the utility sent to The Daily Monitor, EEP said it has been finalizing a payment system that will ease its bill collecting process from customers through an online banking system.

EEP’s officials believe the system will reduce the time and energy its clients spend to pay their bills.

The state-owned electric power distribution agency has already made a first agreement with the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE).

It will pave the way for its corporate clients to pay their bills through the bank.

These customers will forge a new agreement with EEP that will make them pay their bill through state-run Bank.

These customers, according to EEP, are high and mid-level power-consuming customers including industries, businesses, governmental and non-governmental institutions.

Currently, EEU has around 27,000 corporate high voltage electricity-consuming clients.

Other clients who are interested to pay their bills through banks can voluntarily enter into an agreement with the utility, it said.

“But those who want to pay their bills in person can do so at the nearby Utility’s center,” EEP said.

Ethiopian Electric Power Service has been operating in 40 Lehulu payment centers Such as Addis Abeba, Bahar Dar, and Mekelle since 2005 EC.