The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) on Tuesday, January 31, announced plans to exempt electric vehicles from the proposed hike in power prices in the country.
Speaking during a stakeholder consultation workshop in Nakuru, KPLC acting Managing Director, Geoffrey Muli, announced that the move would be geared towards boosting the growth of electric mobility in the country.
Muli asserted that electric vehicles will have a lower tariff as part of the government's agenda of incubating the new form of mobility in the country.
The rates used by EVs, he noted, will be 20 per cent lower than the Small Commercial-2 proposed energy charge rate expected to take effect after ratification.
“The tariff proposes to introduce a special tariff under the E-Mobility (EM), targeting to influence demand and growth of EM at a rate of about 20% lower than the Small Commercial-2 proposed energy charge rate.
The consumption band proposed for EM will be 200kWh – 15,000kWh,” the KPLC MD noted.
The announcement was also corroborated by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) which re-affirmed its stance on the need to adjust the prices of power in the country.
In its manifesto, President William Ruto's government promised to enhance the growth of electric mobility in the country.
The Kenya Kwanza had committed to constructing charging points in all major urban centres in the country as part of its strategy to embrace clean mobility.
Kenya Kwanza's plan was also elaborated in the budget policy statement released by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Prof Njuguna Ndung'u, with several urban centres selected to benefit from the pilot phase in the erection of electric mobility infrastructure.
The announcement by KPLC came at a time when local players in the transport sector were gearing up towards the shift from fossil to electric vehicles.
Several automobile companies have also established assembling centers in the country, a move that has attracted support from international partners in line with world's goal of achieving clean energy targets.
