Francis Muli
Kenya Power is engaging about five electric mobility companies that are set to roll out their services across the country. The utility company is looking into a new market from the introduction of electric vehicles (EV) on the Kenyan roads.
According to Acting Chief Executive Officer Rosemary Oduor, the move is motivated by the need to diversify revenue streams and enhance electricity sales by better utilizing idle power during off-peak hours.
Speaking during the flagging off event for BasiGo, Oduor said that apart from the total installed capacity of 2991MW, Kenya has an off-peak load of 1200MW which is sufficient to sustain the whole e-mobility ecosystem, including charging stations for personal and business use.
“To support the growth of electrified motorization in the country, Kenya Power has established a liaison office which will act as our one-stop shop to champion the Company’s e-mobility business.” Oduor said.
Read: Electric Vehicle Startup BasiGo, Launches Public Transport Bus Service in Kenya
“Through this office, we will work with other stakeholders to support the development of the e-mobility eco-system, which will include the identification of sites for potential charging stations, as well as requisite geo-mapping software to enable users locate the nearest charging station.”
Kenya power has said it can provide electric charging services to 50,000 buses and 2 million motor-cycles during the off-peak period.
“From our initial computations on the size of business opportunity, an average minibus, operating within Nairobi, covers approximately 200 kilometers per day and consumes 120 KWh/units at a cost of Kshs.2400. 1000 mini buses, operating within the city, would therefore consume approximately 120 MWh per day,” added Oduor.
Electric mobility company, BasiGo secured Kshs. 486 million in seed funding last month. The funds will be channeled towards the construction of an assembly plant to boost its production capacity of EV buses.
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Kenya Power just recently bounced back to profitability after announcing a net profit of Sh3.8 billion for the half year period ending December 31. This was attributed to higher electricity sales and decreased operational expenses during the period under review.
Electricity sales increased by 8.7% in the first half of 2021, with 4,562 gigawatt hours sold compared to 366 gigawatt hours sold the previous year.
As part of its revenue diversification strategy, Kenya Power also announced plans to roll out fixed internet plans for businesses soon.
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