On Monday, Kenya Power announced its intention to invest up to Kes.258 million over the next three years to promote the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country.
The national power distributor said the investment includes establishing charging stations nationwide and procuring electric vehicles and motorbikes to support company activities.
As a component of the initiative, Kenya Power launched an EV charging station at its Nairobi headquarters in Stima Plaza on Monday, with an installation cost of Kes.6.5 million.
The station has a 50 kW DC charger, providing a 1-hour charging time, and a 22 kW AC charger, offering a 2-hour charging time.
This marks KPLC’s second EV charging station, following the Ruaraka Depot station, which houses the company’s transport section.
“The two electric vehicle (EV) chargers, one at Stima Plaza and the other at Ruaraka, will be open for free use by members of the public who own EVs, primarily to assist the Company in its research and development. An RFID card for charging will be required, which can be obtained at the Kenya Power security desk at Stima Plaza and Ruaraka,” the company announced yesterday.
9 Additional charging stations
Kenya Power Managing Director and CEO Joseph Siror announced plans to install nine additional charging stations by the end of July at various company offices. These locations include Donholm, Nakuru, Mombasa, Mtito Andei, Kisumu, Eldoret, Roysambu, Electricity House Nairobi, and Ragati.
“We have set aside an annual budget of Ksh.20 million to set up EV charging stations at all our offices across the country. Beyond the additional charging stations that we intend to put up in the current financial year, we intend to install 10 additional facilities annually in 2025 and 2026,” said Dr Siror.
Kenya Power also unveiled two electric heavy-duty vehicles, purchased for Kes.18 million, which will be used for routine operations.
KPLC also announced plans to procure nine more EVs and 25 electric motorcycles by the end of December this year.
“Alongside our need to charge our electric vehicles, we intend to use our EV charging stations to collect data that will inform the next steps of our support to the growing e-mobility industry,” Dr Siror added.
