Kenya Power has announced plans to drop diesel and petrol powered cars in favour of electric cars.

The national power provider has said that it has set aside Sh. 40 million in its current financial year for the acquisition of three electric vehicles to kick-start the project.

The three electric vehicles will include two pickups and one four-wheel drive on a pilot basis.

“Kenya Power intends to substantially reduce its carbon footprint by purchasing more e-vehicles in the near future, including two-wheelers and three-wheelers. We must play our rightful role to combat global warming by championing mitigation measures such as adoption of electric motorisation,” Kenya Power Ag. Managing Director Geoffrey Muli said.

Muli added that Kenya Power will also purchase 50 long-range electric bikes as part of its plan to phase out fuel-powered motorbikes within its fleet in the medium time.

The power distributor is currently using 13 electric bikes in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in meter reading and revenue collection though their range is limited by battery storage capacity and lack of after sale services.

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“With an installed electricity capacity of 3077 MW and an off-peak load of 1100 MW, Kenya has enough power to support the entire e-mobility ecosystem,” said Muli.

has already invited bids for the construction of an e-mobility network infrastructure system (ENIS) to pilot the charging stations. The infrastructure will also allow customers to pay via mobile money and credit cards. Kenya is estimated to be having at least 1000 electric vehicles