Project Management and Performance of Prepaid Electricity Metering Project of Kenya Power: the Case of Nairobi City County and Its Environs

Abstract

Project management systems are considered dynamic systems, similar to those in nature, which means they change over time and are hard to predict. Project management provides a framework to help accomplish goals, reduce operational costs and ensure timely delivery of projects. The study established the practice of project management in Kenya Power and the relationship between project management and performance of prepaid electricity metering project of Kenya power. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Both primary and secondary data was used in this study. Data collection tool was a questionnaire fielded to twelve project engineers in each of the branches of the study. The data was analyzed by obtaining the means and standard deviations of each project management practice and regression analysis was used to establish a relationship between project management and performance of the prepaid metering project. The study concludes that project performance and status was regularly reported in Kenya Power and that there were problems encountered during the implementation. The study also concluded that Kenya power has efficient project performance when project management is efficient interms of project initiation, project planning, project implementation, and project M&E and stakeholder involvement. The researcher recommends that project stakeholders to be adequately involved in the project, proper planning, well-structured monitoring and evaluation processes be established. A proper feedback mechanism should be instituted where all stakeholders are able to interact with the project management team for easy problem solving.