Kebs says in a notice that all-electric motorcycles and motor vehicle batteries must undergo verification of conformity before export. PHOTO | SHUTTERSTOCK
Public charging stations will be located every 25 kilometres on highways, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority(Epra) says in new guidelines of battery charging for electric vehicles (EVs).
“At least one charging station should be available in a grid of three kilometres by three kilometres. Additionally, one charging station shall be set up at every 25 kilometres on both sides of highways/roads” the regulator says.
Epra says long-range EVs such as sport utility vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles such as buses and trucks, there would be at least one fast-charging station with appropriate charging infrastructure at every 100 kilometres, one on each side of the highways or road.
“Within cities, such charging facilities for heavy-duty EVs shall be located within bus stops. The swapping facilities are also not mandatory within cities for buses or trucks,” Epra said.
Charging stations have been granted a preferential power tariff of Sh17 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) by Kenya Power as the utility positions itself to cash in on the growing uptake of EVs to boost its electricity sales.
Kenya Power has previously estimated that an average minibus operating in Nairobi would use electricity of about Sh2,400 each day and that it can charge 50,000 buses and two million motorcycles each day.
The EV market in Kenya is growing as more investors express interest in this market segment. By last year, there were 350 registered EVs in Kenya.
For instance, several public service vehicle companies in Nairobi have acquired EV fleets while Kenya Power less than a fortnight ago invited bids for a supply of EV pick-ups and motorcycles for use at one of its yards in Nairobi.
KenGen also recently unveiled four EVs to primarily be used for data collection and policy development.
