Safaricom PLC is now looking to add more efficiency with Bonga Points that will now be used to settle electricity bills.

The telco has made a deal with Kenya Power that will now see subscribers use the loyalty awards to purchase power. This comes as a cushion against the current economic slowdown that exposed over half a million customers to disconnection over the last three months.

Kenya Power managing director Bernard Ngugi noted that the move is part of the monopoly’s strategy to help households manage the tough financial times brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that this comes alongside plans to increase consumer education on efficient use of energy.

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“We have entered into a partnership with Safaricom through which our customers will be able to pay for power through Bonga Points. In addition, we plan to amplify campaigns to educate our customers on efficient power use in order to manage their bills during these tough economic times,” he said in an interview with Business Daily.

This also comes as a strategy by Kenya Power to recover the KES 3.9 billion that was lost in unpaid bills this year. Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter last month announced that the loss was a result of bill defaulting by more than 600,000 customers.

The team-up comes about two months after Safaricom announced the extension of the ‘Bonga For Good’ campaign. This initiative was set up to give Kenyans a chance to use their Bonga Points to buy goods and services. By May, the firm had seen over 200,000 subscribers use the service redeeming more than 670 million Bonga points, equivalent to over KES 200 million.