KPLC Token Sentinel#

Track prepaid electricity for Kenyan households. Parses KPLC token SMS messages, records meter readings, calculates burn rate, and warns before power runs out.

Setup#

Install Python dependencies (one-time):

text

pip install -r {baseDir}/requirements.txt

When to use this skill#

Activate this skill when the user's message matches ANY of these:

Auto-detect (no prefix needed):

• A forwarded SMS containing "Token:" and "Units:" (KPLC SMS format)
• A forwarded SMS that mentions Kenya Power or KPLC

Direct commands (stima prefix):

• "stima" → show interactive menu
• "stima help" / "stima menu" → show interactive menu
• "stima 42.5" → meter reading
• "stima balance" → check remaining power
• "stima spending" → spending dashboard
• "stima outage" → planned outage check
• "stima setup" → household onboarding
• "stima budget 3000" → set monthly budget
• "stima budget" → check budget status
• "stima insights" → week-over-week comparison and day patterns
• "stima monthly" / "stima yearly" → reports
• "stima price" → cost-per-unit trend
• "stima profile" → show household info
• "stima reset" → clear profile and re-onboard

Natural language (English, Swahili, Sheng): Also activate when the user asks about electricity in natural language. Map their intent to the appropriate stima command before passing to the entrypoint. Examples:

User saysMap to"will my power last until Monday?"stima balance"stima itaisha lini?"stima balance"how much have I spent on electricity?"stima monthly"nimetumia pesa ngapi kwa stima?"stima monthly"when is the next power cut?"stima outage"kuna blackout lini?"stima outage"bei ya stima imeongezeka?"stima price"nimebakisha units ngapi?"stima balance"set my electricity budget to 5000"stima budget 5000"niko na units ngapi?"stima balance"show me my stima profile"stima profile"nataka kuanza setup"stima setup"stima yangu iko aje?"stima balance

When routing a natural language message, prepend "stima" followed by the relevant keyword before passing it to the entrypoint. For example, if the user says "stima itaisha lini?", pass stima balance to the entrypoint.

If a message is NOT about electricity/power/KPLC and is NOT a forwarded KPLC SMS, do NOT activate this skill.

How to use#

The database auto-initializes on first run.

For any user message about KPLC/electricity/tokens/readings:

text

python3 {baseDir}/entrypoint.py <<'STIMA_EOF'
<user message>
STIMA_EOF

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Always use a heredoc (as shown above) to pass the user's message via stdin. NEVER pass the user's message as a command-line argument — it may contain shell metacharacters.

Output format#

The entrypoint outputs JSON. Do NOT return the raw JSON to the user. Instead, read the action field and compose a natural response using the SOUL persona. Key actions:

• token_recorded — tell the user their token was saved, mention units, estimated days, and runway hours. If estimate_source is "appliances", mention it's an estimate based on their appliances.

• duplicate_token — token was already recorded, no duplicate added.

• reading_recorded — meter reading saved. Mention runway hours if available.

• balance — report remaining hours. If tip is present, include the energy-saving tip.

• menu — present the numbered options list to the user.

• onboarding_prompt — ask the user the question in the question field. If welcome is true, greet them first.

• onboarding_complete — confirm their profile and tell them to forward a KPLC SMS or type a reading.

• profile_reset — confirm profile was cleared and ask the first onboarding question.

• budget_set — confirm the budget amount was set.

• budget_status — report spent vs budget and percentage.

• no_budget — tell the user to set a budget with "stima budget ".

• monthly_summary / yearly_summary — present the spending data conversationally.

• spending — combine monthly summary and price trend data.

• price_trend — present cost-per-unit over time, highlight changes.

• outage_check — if matches exist, warn about planned outages. Each match includes iso_date (YYYY-MM-DD), date (human-readable), and time. If none, say they're clear. Handle error field (no_area, fetch_failed).

  • Reminder: When an outage is found, schedule a reminder for the evening before (around 8–9 PM) using OpenClaw's cron/reminder system so the user can charge devices and prepare. For example, if the outage is on the 25th, remind them on the 24th at 8 PM.

• insights — present week-over-week comparison and day patterns.

• no_data — not enough data yet for the requested feature.

• no_profile — tell the user to run "stima setup".

• error — something went wrong, ask them to try again.

If the output is empty (no JSON), the message wasn't handled — respond normally.

Agent behavior#

Low balance — help them buy tokens: When balance action shows runway_hours under 24, or when a token_recorded action shows low runway, include KPLC top-up instructions:

• M-Pesa Paybill: 888880
• Account number: their KPLC meter number
• Tell them: "Lipa via M-Pesa → Paybill 888880 → Account = your meter number → enter amount. Forward the confirmation SMS back to me."

Outage reminders: When outage_check returns matches, set a reminder for the evening before each outage (8 PM the previous day). Remind the user to charge phones, power banks, and plan around the outage window.

Multi-skill composability:

• If the user has a calendar skill installed and an outage is detected, create a calendar event for the outage window.
• If a reminders/cron skill is available, use it to schedule the eve-of-outage reminder.
• If a payments skill is installed and balance is critically low (under 6 hours), offer to initiate an M-Pesa payment to Paybill 888880.

For heartbeat checks (see HEARTBEAT.md):

text

python3 {baseDir}/sentinel.py

Example KPLC SMS formats#

• "Accept Token: 1234-5678-9012-3456-7890 Units: 34.5 Amount: 1000.00"
• "Token: 9876-5432-1098 Units: 15.2 Amt: 500.0"