Kenya Power Hosted Its Second E-Mobility Conference To Promote EV Adoption

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According to new vehicle registration statistics by fuel type, there are at least 4,000 electric vehicles in Kenya ranging from two-wheelers to three-wheelers and four-wheelers. That means EVs currently make up just 0.01% of Kenya’s total vehicle population, which is approximately 4 million. Close to 50% of these vehicles are internal combustion engine motorcycles. 4 years ago, Kenya set a target to have at least 5% of new vehicle registrations being electric by 2025 (National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy, 2020). According to data from KNBS, about 234,000 vehicles were registered in 2022, 5% of that would be 17,700 vehicles. In 2021, 399,000 vehicles were registered. 5% of this would be 19,950 vehicles.

If we assume that sales of vehicles in 2025 will pick up again to get to the 2021 numbers, that will mean about 20,000 electric vehicles would need to be registered next year. A lot of work is needed to help us get to those levels in just a year from now. This is one of the reasons why Kenya Power wants to help catalyze adoption of EVs in Kenya.

Kenya Power is Kenya’s electric utility company and the main off-taker of power produced by both national and independent power producers. Kenya Power then transmits, distributes, and retails the power to customers throughout Kenya. As of December 2023, the company had over 9.5 million customers and had enabled over 76% of the country’s population to access the national grid. As a major stakeholder in the electricity sector, Kenya Power has been at the forefront of promoting the adoption of electric mobility in Kenya. Kenya Power is now ramping up its activities in the electric  mobility space.

As part of its initiatives to promote the adoption of electric mobility in Kenya, Kenya Power recently hosted the second edition of its annual electric mobility conference. Kenya Power says Kenya is a global green energy leader, with the country’s energy mix comprising over 92% of renewable power. Kenya presently has an installed capacity of 3246 MW (December 2023) and an off-peak load of 1100 MW. Kenya Power adds that this means there is enough power to support the entire E-mobility ecosystem, including powering charging stations for domestic and business use.

The event, which was themed “Accelerating the Adoption of Electric Mobility in Kenya,” was held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on 23rd and 24th April 2024. Some of the key sessions of the conference covered the following areas:

• Policy and Regulatory environment powering the growth of e-mobility. Regulatory and operating environment in Kenya, gains made so far, lessons learnt.
• Grid capacity, reliability, and readiness. Infrastructure development and grid stability to enable uptake of e-mobility.
• Safety and quality assurance (products, batteries, charging infrastructure). Regulatory framework and standards for the EV space in the country
• Local assembly and manufacturing. Opportunities and challenges in the local assembly of EVs, including quality control. The future/sustainability of local assembly and manufacturing. Skills availability and gaps.
• Public transport and electric vehicles
• Charging infrastructure – Technology and management platforms

Kenya Power also recently announced that it will invest up to KShs 258 million (~US$2 million) in the next three years to drive the uptake of electric vehicles in the country. The money will go toward the cost of setting up charging stations at various locations across the country and the purchase of electric vehicles and motorbikes for its own internal operations.

Some of the interesting EVs that were on show at the conference were the Neta V and Wuling Air, as well as the Mahindra XUV 400. Here are some images from the conference:

Images courtesy of Khadeeja