Kenya Energy Lighting Firm PLC (Kenya Energy) owns and operates many of the electrical energy transmission and distribution system in Kenya. Kenya Energy sells electrical energy to over 9 million clients. Its transmission and distribution community covers 248,834 km and this has enabled it to make sure that a minimum of 75% of the nation’s inhabitants have entry the nationwide grid. To maintain profitability and develop shareholders worth, Kenya Energy is seeking to leverage on new enterprise frontiers as a part of its five-year Strategic Plan for the interval 2023-2028. A number of the key pillars of this new development plan embody electrical mobility, getting extra Kenyans to shift to electrical cooking, power storage, and electrification of a number of sectors to help decarbonization.
Final week, Kenya Energy hosted an e-mobility convention in Nairobi to develop a roadmap for electrical motorization. Greater than 300 contributors drawn from the power, finance, the transport sector, in addition to county governments, growth companions, and the non-public sector, attended the e-mobility Convention. The convention was organized by Kenya Energy, in partnership with the German Company for Worldwide Cooperation (GIZ), to develop a consultative framework that may help a coordinated method towards the implementation of electrical motorization within the nation. The discussion board was additionally bringing key stakeholders collectively to advocate for the amalgamation of insurance policies below growth by completely different stakeholders to make sure that they seize all alternatives offered by means of all the e-mobility worth chain. There’s lots of exercise in Kenya’s electrical car sector and its good to see main stakeholders arrange such occasions to get issues getting into a coordinated method to assist catalyze the expansion of this sector.
“One of many goals of the convention is to supply a chance to map out all the e-mobility worth chain to drive investments and appeal to the participation of potential stakeholders to extend the uptake of electrical autos,” mentioned Kenya Energy’s Ag. Managing Director Eng. Geoffrey Muli. He added, “we’re on the heart of electrical motorization and due to this fact we’re effectively positioned to make sure that we offer sufficient and dependable electrical energy provide to spur the expansion of this nascent trade.”
Contributors on the convention have been in a position appraise themselves with the out there charging infrastructure, applied sciences, and ancillary providers which can be out there in Kenya and past. Electrical car charging suppliers reminiscent of EVChaja have been a part of the exhibitors. They have been additionally capable of discover methods of enhancing the prevailing charging infrastructure, assessment insurance policies and rules supporting the event of the charging system, and benchmark in opposition to regional and international leaders in e-mobility.
Kenya Energy has already introduced plans to part out fossil fuel-powered autos and motorbikes from its fleet, in favor of electric-powered ones. The corporate has put aside KShs.40 million within the present monetary yr to buy three electrical autos and to assemble three electrical car charging stations inside Nairobi, each for the corporate’s use and demonstration functions. Kenya Energy’s present ICE car fleet has over 2,000 autos and it plans to transform this fleet to electrical inside the subsequent 4 years.
Kenya has an put in electrical energy era capability of three,321 MW. The height demand is 2,132 MW. Nevertheless, it’s the low in a single day off-peak demand of 1,100 MW that Kenya Energy needs to take advantage of initially to energy Kenya’s transition to electrical mobility.
Renewables supplied 89% of Kenya’s electrical energy era in 2021, because of contributions from geothermal, wind, hydro, and a few utility scale photo voltaic. Kenya is without doubt one of the main gamers within the geothermal house and is within the prime 10 on the planet in relation to put in geothermal era capability. Electrical autos in Kenya can be charged utilizing some very clear electrical energy. As most of EV charging globally occurs in a single day, this low off-peak demand focused for EV charging will assist unlock efficiencies from out there era capability, reminiscent of Kenya’s geothermal crops, in addition to boosting Kenya Energy’s revenues, whereas serving to to scale back Kenya’s large fossil gas import invoice. Petroleum merchandise contribute a good portion of Kenya’s annual import invoice. Petroleum merchandise imported by Kenya elevated by 12.0% to six.4 million tonnes in 2021, costing the nation a whopping US$3 billion! Lowering fossil gas imports may assist Kenya cut back its large commerce deficit.
Kenya’s Commerce Deficit Over The Previous 5 Years
Supply: KNBS 2022 Financial Survey
Supply: KNBS 2022 Financial Survey
In a transfer geared toward incentivising the adoption of electrical autos in addition to funding in electrical car charging infrastructure, in a submission to the power regulator, Kenya Energy is proposing a particular tariff for electrical car charging as a part of its proposed general tariff assessment. Kenya Energy has submitted a tariff assessment to the power regulator that if accepted will see tariffs go up by over 70%. This can see houses paying as a lot 35 Kenya Shillings per kWh (28 USD cents/kWh). Kenya Energy needs to extend tariffs to assist improve its ageing transmission and distribution community.
The proposed tariff for residential clients, excluding levies and taxes, can be 21,68 Kenya shillings/kWh. The proposed tariff for electrical mobility can be 17 Kenya shillings per kWh. For the e-mobility tariff, this can be for consumption between 200 and 15,000-kilowatt hours. Kenya Energy proposes to carry this tariff at that charge till 2025 to incentivize funding within the e-mobility sector. So, the proposed e-mobility tariff can be decrease than the residential tariff. A particular e-mobility tariff is a welcome growth and can come on the proper time as a number of gamers are ramping up investments within the electrical car sector. Kenya’s e-mobility scene is getting lots of consideration, particularly within the electrical motorbike and electrical bus sector.
The convention was effectively attended and there have been lots of good exhibitions from gamers in Kenya’s rising electrical mobility sector. It’s good to see Kenya Energy main the cost to advertise electrical car adoption in Kenya.
Photographs from Kenya Energy LinkedIn
