In Kenya, the development of e-mobility will not happen without Kenya Power. The state-owned electricity company recently announced an investment of 258 million Kenyan shillings ($1.9 million) over the next three years as part of its CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiative. Part of this sum, 20 million Kenyan shillings ($149,000), will be used specifically to install charging stations for electric vehicles.
Nairobi will be the first city to benefit from this initiative, with a charging station in the busy Stima Plaza shopping complex. The infrastructure, worth 6.5 million Kenyan shillings ($48,500), “includes two chargers, one of which is 50 kW DC for one hour’s charging and the other 22 kW AC for 2 hours’ charging”, says the company based in the Kenyan capital. Other stations will be installed in nine counties, including Kisumu and Mombasa, where electric vehicle assembly plants (BasiGo) are located.
Year-on-year investment in electromobility
The second part of Kenya Power’s funding is earmarked for the purchase of electric vehicles and motorbikes to replace its business fleet, which is currently dominated by combustion-powered cars. The Nairobi-based company confirms that at least two “heavy”, mainly electric vehicles have already been “acquired” at a total cost of 18 million Kenyan shillings ($134,000).
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This is not the first time that Kenya Power has shown an interest in environmentally-friendly mobility. Earlier in 2022, the company headed by Joseph Siror released 331,000 dollars (40 million Kenyan shillings) for the acquisition of two vans, 50 bicycles and four electric cars. Kenya Power has even teamed up with mobility start-ups such as Roam Motors. Kenya has an installed electrical capacity of 3,077 MW, according to Kenya Power. An asset for the development of electromobility in this East African country.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi