The High Court has ordered Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) to stop the award of a Sh285 million contract for the procurement of Emergency Restoration Towers (ERTs) and galvanized steel structures for use in premium customer service schemes and various primary and secondary substations.
Emergency response systems are structures that are a temporary solution designed to bypass existing permanent relocation to quickly restore lines to service.
The High Court decision follows a case brought by Sharpcut Designers Limited, challenging a decision by the Public Procurement Management Review Board (PPARB). KPLC was suspended in the case as an interested party.
“A prohibitory order is hereby issued restraining the first interested party (KPLC) from entering into a contract with the second interested party (Credible Technical Works Limited) for the supply of Emergency Restoration Towers (ERTs) and galvanized steel structures for the execution of schemes of distinguished clients and for various primary and secondary substations,” the judge added.
In October 2023, KPLC floated a tender for the supply of ERT devices and galvanized steel structures. Sharpcut Designers submitted a bid for the tender of Sh269,175,844. On 27 March 2024, the company received an email informing them that their bid was unsuccessful.
The email stated: “The Historical Contract Default Form 3.2 was not filled out correctly. The bidder was supposed to mention/identify any unresolved cases/litigations, in case the answer was yes in the above sections to this requirement. However, you mentioned yes in the said section of the form but failed to mention the cases/litigations as required in the bid.”
Sharpcut Designers was aggrieved by this and approached the Dispute Resolution Commission on April 11, 2024 to intervene but received a decision on May 2, 2024 from the council dismissing its application for filing out of time. This prompted the company to approach the High Court seeking, among other things, an order restraining Kenya Power from entering into a contract with Credible Technical Works, which had been awarded the tender. Credible Technical Works won the tender for Sh285 million.
Sharpcut Designers told the court that “the defendant’s (PPARB) decision was based on the fact that the email communication was immediate and therefore the applicant was deemed to have received the award notice on March 27, 2024.”