- KenGen has also installed two charging stations - one at its Ngara office in Nairobi and another in Olkaria, Naivasha.
- Additional three other stations will be up by end of next year. Murang’a, Embu and Kisumu counties have been earmarked to host them within its power plants.
Image: LABAN WALLOGA
State power generation company KenGen has started a project to transition all its fleet from fossil fuel to electricity-powered.
The three-year project has started in earnest, with the company buying four electric units – two SUVs from South Korea and two double cabins from China – as first instalment to serve as the pilot phase of the initiative.
The company’s strategy and innovation general manager David Muthike told the Star that the firm was taking lead in the government’s overall agenda of decarbonising Kenyan roads and economy.
He took the Star on a feel of the electric vehicles, saying company has rolled out the transition in a phased approach.
KenGen has also installed two charging stations - one at its Ngara office in Nairobi and another in Olkaria, Naivasha.
Additional three other stations will be up by end of next year. Murang’a, Embu and Kisumu counties have been earmarked to host them within its power plants.
Muthike said their vision is to convert all the company’s vehicles to be powered by electricity and then use the momentum to influence the public, beginning with the matatu sector to go green.
They company is also interested in private car owners, preferring electric ride to fossil fuel-powered vehicles.
“We will go public by installing charging stations and infrastructure in many other places so that it becomes easily accessible. The concern and risk about climate change is a clear present danger that we must take serious and act on it,” he said.
Muthike said the electric vehicles are way cheaper in terms of total ownership cost in the long run compared to petrol- and diesel-powered ones currently in use in the country.
The electric vehicles, he said, have no bulk engine, only a battery that is charged and its other parts are largely cooling system, adding that this lowers the maintenance cost.
“Electric cars are way faster and efficient. Right now, you buy a litre of petrol for Sh180, but a a kilowatt unit of electricity in the country is approximately Sh22, so spot the difference,”Muthike said.
“The electric cars use around 0.2 kilowatt for a kilometre, translating to roughly Sh4.50 compared to around Sh18 for every kilometre when using petrol. So factoring the fuelling cost and maintenance plus the fact that there is no emission, the electric vehicles gives you a better deal for your money.”
A double cab pick up costs Sh7 million, but petrol-powered versions cost about Sh6.05 million.
The move is part of KenGen's green energy transition because, currently, it generates 87 per cent of its power from renewables.
The power giant has been earning carbon credits and that with the latest initiative, he expect earnings to rise.
"We hope to start trading in the carbon market soon after accruing the credits," Muthike said.
Sebastian Kalama, the chief technical officer, said electric vehicles pick up speed fast and it costs Sh5,000 to service, compared to the Sh30,000 or Sh40,000 spent servicing fossil fuel cars.
Electric cars are serviced after 10,000km compared to 5,000km for most petrol or diesel cars.
“This car [double cabin] takes eight seconds of revving to hit 100 kilometres per hour in speed,” he said.
The company's move comes as a fleet of 15 electric Public Service Vehicles have landed in the country last week, signalling a momentum to shift to eco-friendly public transport.
The delivery of the buses is part of the country's plans to eventually phase out gasoline and petrol-powered PSVs.
Kenya Ports Authority said the electric buses were shipped by BYD Automotive and belong to BasiGo, a Kenyan e-mobility startup providing electric bus solutions to PSV owners.