Kenya Power has applied to the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) for a new special tariff that will stipulate new charges for customers using electric vehicles.
According to Kenya Power MD Geoffrey Muli, the move is aimed at targetting different groups in a bid to increase its customer base and raise revenue.
In addition, if approved by EPRA, Kenya Power will enable different rates for those using electric vehicles as opposed to normal electricity prices.
“We have applied to EPRA for a new special tariff for charging electric vehicles and we are waiting for the regulator’s response,” Muli stated.
The unprecedented move will see Kenya enjoined in a list of countries that have rolled out special tariffs to boost the uptake of Electric Vehicles.
The tariffs offer different rates for customers to charge their vehicles at specific times of the day. The move will also capitalise on special times such as customers in manufacturing who shifted their production at night.
Kenya Power had rolled out a pilot program in Nairobi and Nakuru to implement its E-Mobility Network Infrastructure System (ENIS).
"The system will make it easy and simple for customers to be billed and for them to make payments for the charging services. The system will support multiple payment channels which include mobile money, E-Wallet, banks and credit card."
"Additionally, ENIS will allow the customer to seamlessly manage and monitor their services from within their customer engagement platform while at the same allowing Kenya Power to have an end-to-end visibility of the entire ENIS ecosystem," read the notice in part.
Launch Operation
Kenya Power has also launched a repossession campaign targetting idle electricity meters to curb the shortage within the utility. The exercise targets meters that have not been used in the past six months.
"As part of its normal business operations, Kenya Power is continuously reviewing its customer and asset database to identify ways of optimising its resources."
"One of the outcomes of this process is the recovery of meters that have been inactive for a period of six months, which we re-allocate to active customers to ensure that the business makes a return on all its assets,” Kenya Power stated.
The power utility also noted that those affected could apply to have the meters reconnected, but will be expected to cater for the cost.
