Kenya wants five per cent of all vehicle registrations to be electric by 2025. Stakeholders in the energy sector are deploying the infrastructure necessary to support the increase in these vehicles.
Further, the government has demonstrated its commitment to aligning with global efforts to combat climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) is well aligned with this commitment and is rolling out a transmission network to ensure reliable, stable and adequate power to support e-mobility.
The company is playing a significant role in ensuring Kenya is ahead in the uptake of e-mobility. This will in turn ensure the transition to e-mobility is seamless as the country will not have to worry about unstable electricity.
Ketraco recognises that the operation and maintenance of the transmission network are instrumental in ensuring that a stable and reliable power supply will be available to Kenyans for various socioeconomic activities.
As such, Ketraco will construct and complete 41 transmission line projects to attain 4,600km circuit length and 36 substations within five years. This infrastructure provides 99.7 per cent reliability.
Further, the company will play a major role in creating an enabling environment for the growth and adoption of Electric Vehicles in Kenya by transmitting electricity to areas currently not supplied by the national grid.
A report by the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) on the state of electric mobility in Kenya stated that electric mobility space in Kenya is gradually gaining momentum and that there is an increasing number of players coming in and driving the transition.
Further, the report concluded that energy conditions in Kenya seem to be advantageous for electric mobility for several reasons: Kenya has a reserve capacity of more than 800 Megawatts, with which it could easily support increases in the uptake of electric mobility. Moreover, the high share of renewable energy of more than 70 per cent in Kenya’s energy mix further increases the potential.
Kenya is poised to leap forward to its neighbouring countries primarily due to a higher electricity access rate, robust national grid and its generation mix. Kenya has expanded the generation capacity of a well-diversified mix with nearly 90 per cent of energy being generated from clean sources (mainly geothermal, hydro and wind).
Kenya had a total electricity installed capacity of 3,713.4 MW as of June 2023. The country recorded a new peak demand of 2,177 MW on February 21, 2024. This shows that Kenya’s grid capacity is sufficient to support e-mobility.
Secondly, the Kenyan government is working on policies and strategies to guide the introduction of electric mobility: the draft national e-mobility policy 2024. The policy will guide the development of electric mobility in all transportation modes – road, rail, air and maritime.
The draft policy's objectives include the development of a comprehensive framework to promote e-mobility adoption, local manufacturing of EVs, enhancing infrastructural capacity and improving technical skills in the e-mobility sector.
The policy estimates that the daily curtailed energy could power about 7,000 electric buses or over 200,000 electric motorcycles.
Statistics by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority released in April 2024 shows that the number of EVs registrations stood at 3,753 as of 2023. Between July and December 2023, 2,694 new EVs were registered.
Ketraco’s Strategic Plan 2023-2027 prioritises the development and optimisation of Electricity Transmission Infrastructure.
Towards this, it will build and strengthen its capacity to undertake grid operation and maintenance and enhance security and safety systems for transmission infrastructure to support e-mobility.
Active participation from players in the energy sector, both private and government, will further boost this effort.
In conclusion, as we transition to e-mobility, Ketraco calls upon stakeholders to actively participate in this green revolution by embracing e-mobility, which bodes well for a cleaner and more sustainable future.
Together we can navigate this transformative journey towards positioning Kenya as a leader in electric mobility transition in Africa.
Managing director, Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (Ketraco)
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