Kenyan highways will have EV chargers every 25km

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) says electric vehicle (EV) public charging stations shall be introduced on highways, one station every 25 kilometres.

Under new guidelines on EV charging and battery swapping effective September 1, the energy regulator says the stations will be on both sides of the road.

“For long-range EVs (like long-range SUVs) and heavy-duty EVs such as buses/trucks, there should be at least one fast charging station with appropriate charging infrastructure at every 100 kilometres, one on each side of the highways/road located preferably within/ alongside the charging stations,” EPRA says.

Meanwhile, within cities, the charging facilities for heavy-duty EVs shall be located within bus stops, while swapping facilities are also not mandatory within cities for buses and trucks.

EPRA says it will keep a national online database of all the public charging stations through electricity distribution companies.

Any person intending to install a public charging system shall be required to apply for an electricity retail supply license from EPRA beforehand.

For private charging infrastructure, on the other hand, stations meant only for in-house use, for instance, buses of a company would be free to decide the charging specifications as per requirement for its in-house company.

“Charging points shall be certified and type-approved and tested by KEBS or any other accredited agency. Private charging infrastructure shall be operational only after inspection, testing and issuance of a completion certificate issued by a licensed electrical contractor or inspector,” EPRA says.

Battery swapping stations will meanwhile have their infrastructure tested and certified as per standards developed or approved by KEBS for safety.

“Every battery swapping station shall only be operational after inspection, testing and issuance of a completion certificate issued by a licensed electrical contractor or inspector,” the regulator adds.

E-MOBILITY ADOPTION

With buses and motorcycle taxis, commonly known as boda bodas, public transport has been leading EV adoption in the country.

But while a 2023 e-mobility report by Kenya Power places the number of electric-powered vehicles on Kenyan roads at over 1,350, the lack of charging infrastructure has been one of the leading impediments to the full adoption of e-mobility.

Sixty-two per cent of this number are motorcycles.

EPRA in May approved Kenya Power’s request for a separate tariff for electric vehicles for owners to purchase power at discounted prices in a bid to reduce charging costs to incentivize investment in the EV field.

As such, electric vehicle users are set to pay Ksh.17 for a kilowatt-hour (unit) of electricity compared to Ksh.27 for a unit of power for domestic users.

Last year, Kenya Power indicated it had enough power to charge 50,000 buses and two million motorcycles during off-peak hours.