They tried something similar last year after KPLC changed their account numbers. When paying my electricity I was still filling in the old account number seeing as I had no idea account numbers had been changed. Incidentally, they also had a heavy Kisii accent:
“Is this Mr IsMundu”,
“Yes it is. Who I’m I speaking to?”
“I am calling from Kenya Power and I want to know why you are still using the old account number”
“What do you mean old account number?”
“Are you not aware that KPLC account numbers were changed?”
“No, I’m not aware.”
“They have. We are in the process of disconnecting all accounts that have not paid the transfer fee to move to the new account. And as I can see here your old account number ZZZZ has not transferred yet. I will have no option but to disconnect your account.”
“That would be really bad. What do I need to do?”
“Lipa KES 550 kwa Paybill Number xxxx (can’t recall what it was), and then I can hold the disconnection and do the transfer for you”
“Ok. Just a moment.”
I was considering sending the money but I decided to Google out the stuff. While it was true that KPLC had introduced new account numbers, all one had to do to get their new account number - according to the KPLC website - was to send a text message with their current number to a predefined short code. No mention of any charges!!
After 30 minutes or so, the dude calls again: “Wee hii stima tutakata. Mtu wa pikipiki hatangoja tena.”