The transport sector could be set for radical changes after Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) unveiled an ambitious plan to accelerate the country’s shift to electric mobility.
On Monday, May 5, KPLC revealed the company had embarked on a mission to install 45 electric vehicle (EV) chargers across six counties. This is at an estimated total cost of Ksh292.5 million, based on the current average cost of Ksh6.5 million per station.
Nairobi is inevitably among the counties set to benefit from the project, which KPLC projects will run for the next year. Other counties include Nyeri, Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru, Mombasa, and Taita Taveta.
This project is part of KPLC's broader strategy to support Kenya's growing e-mobility sector, which is expected to grow and eventually dominate the transport sector at the expense of fuel-powered vehicles.
KPLC Managing Director and CEO, Dr (Eng.) Joseph Siror, spoke during the opening of the 3rd Annual E-mobility Conference and Expo, where he reiterated KPLC's commitment to catalyse the switch to e-powered vehicles.
“Kenya Power is committed to enabling the country’s transition to electric mobility to catalyse the reduction of carbon emissions,” he said.
Notably, while Nairobi is set to have more EV charging stations, EV chargers will also be installed at strategic points within the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. This is a deliberate strategy to position Kenya's capital as a hub for green transport.
The groundwork for the national rollout of EV chargers has long been underway, with Nairobi already having three chargers installed in the recent past.
Kenya has set a bold target to reduce carbon emissions by a whopping 32 per cent by 2030. With less than half a decade to go, tapping into greener energy in the transport sector is projected to go a long way in helping the country achieve this target.
The transport sector is one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions globally, accounting for about 23 per cent of total emissions.
According to Siror, KPLC will also seek collaborations with other private sectors to identify the energy and infrastructure needs in the e-mobility space.
In East Africa, Kenya is making strides in going electric, with approximately 9047 electric vehicles registered in the country as of May 2025. This is a huge rise from the 2,694 electric vehicles recorded in 2023. By 2024, the number had soared to 5,294.
However, on a global scale, Kenya is still lagging behind in the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), even as the world continues to move away from traditional fuel cars.
In March, Tom Courtright, a research director at Africa E-Mobility Alliance, confirmed that e-vehicles have found a favourable market in Kenya, but growth was stifled by a number of factors.
The infrastructure to accommodate EVs posed a huge challenge since electric vehicles need charging stations to be widespread at different places. While there are a fair number of charging stations in urban centres like Nairobi, long-distance travel is still difficult due to the limited access to such stations.
