Premium
Kenya Power earns Sh382m from EV charging infrastructure
Kenya Power MD and CEO Joseph Siror charges an electric vehicle yesterday during the launch of a charging station.
Kenya Power has collected Sh382 million from electric vehicle charging in less than three years, a revenue stream that barely existed in 2023 and is now growing faster than almost any other part of the utility’s business.
Monthly earnings from EV charging have risen from Sh873,907 in July 2023 to a peak of Sh35 million in February 2026, a trajectory that the company’s data describes as 113-fold growth in under three years.
“Our E-mobility Sales Growth Analysis Report shows that electricity sales to the e-mobility sector have grown 113-fold in just under three years,” said Dr Joseph Siror, Kenya Power’s Managing Director and CEO. “This is clear evidence that EV adoption is no longer a pilot, but a mainstream reality.”
Kenya Power moved early, building charging infrastructure and designing a dedicated tariff at a time when electric vehicles were still rare on Kenyan roads. That bet is now paying off as fuel prices push more motorists to consider alternatives.
Motorists in Nairobi are currently paying Sh214.25 per litre of super petrol, Sh232.86 for diesel and Sh191.38 for kerosene, figures that have made the economics of electric transport increasingly difficult to ignore.
The tariff that made it work
The foundation of Kenya Power’s e-mobility business is a specialised tariff developed with the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) in 2023. Under the tariff, EV owners pay Sh8 per kilowatt-hour when charging during off-peak hours between 11pm and 6am, and Sh16 per kilowatt-hour during peak daytime hours.
Those rates are significantly below standard electricity prices, which range between Sh24 and Sh35 per unit. Many public charging stations charge between Sh30 and Sh60 per unit.
“We designed the e-mobility tariff not just to make charging more affordable, but also to help balance electricity demand throughout the day,” said David Mugambi, Kenya Power's Manager of Transport and Technical Lead for E-Mobility. “By encouraging drivers to charge their vehicles at night, we can make better use of off-peak electricity and ensure a more stable, efficient grid.”
Where the growth is coming from
Electricity sales linked to electric mobility have risen from 13,500 kilowatt-hours in July 2023 to more than 1.5 million kilowatt-hours by April 2026. Consumption from e-mobility users reached 1.26 gigawatt-hours in 2024, with a projected increase to 5.04 gigawatt-hours by June 2026, according to Jeremiah Kiplagat, director of the Kenya Power Institute of Energy Studies and Research.
“This is not just about convenience, it's about affordability,” Kiplagat said. “That is a clear sign that more Kenyans are making the switch.”
Nairobi is the largest market, accounting for 71 per cent of Kenya Power’s cumulative e-mobility revenue. However, uptake is spreading to the Coast, Western Kenya and North Eastern regions.
“This growth tells us the opportunity is truly national, and our focus must be on diversifying beyond the capital,” Siror said.
Kenya Power says it has invested Sh258 million in charging infrastructure and onboarded about 40 e-mobility clients, including logistics firms and matatu operators.
Kenya Power estimates that there are currently about 6,400 electric vehicles, including cars, buses and motorcycles, operating on Kenyan roads. However, data from the Electric Mobility Association of Kenya (EMAK) puts the number of registered EVs at more than 35,000 by the end of 2025, up from just 796 vehicles three years earlier. Most of that growth has been driven by electric motorcycles and two-wheelers.
The infrastructure gap
Despite the revenue growth, a key constraint on wider adoption remains visible in the numbers. Kenya had about 300 charging stations spread across major towns and highways by late 2025, with the majority concentrated in Nairobi.
That uneven distribution creates what riders and drivers describe as range anxiety, the fear of running out of charge before reaching the next station.
Jeremiah Nyangweso, a boda-boda rider based in Imara Daima in Nairobi County, said, “The disadvantage of electric is the battery…Let's say you are left with a few kilometres and there is no swapping point. If you get a customer going to Machakos or Kitui and there is no swapping station along the way, you cannot take that client.”
Kenya Power acknowledges that localised pressure could emerge if large numbers of vehicles begin charging simultaneously in densely populated areas.
Follow our WhatsApp channel for breaking news updates and more stories like this.
