KEPSA, represented by Eng. James Mwangi, KEPSA Director in charge of Energy and Extractives, participated in the E-Mobility Stakeholders’ Conference by Kenya Power that was held on the 7^th and 8^th of February 2023 at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi. The theme of the forum was ‘Powering E-mobility in Kenya’. It focused on the development of bespoke, world-class charging infrastructure, technologies and attendant ancillary services to power the uptake of e-mobility in Kenya, and position the country as a regional leader.

With growing recognition of the advantages of e-mobility and calls for clean energy solutions to tackle climate change, the market for electric-powered vehicles is anticipated to expand in the coming years. In this regard, Kenya Power revealed that it’s in the process of hiring a consultant to guide the development of an E-mobility Network Infrastructure System (ENIS) to pilot the electric vehicle charging stations, both for company use and demonstration purposes.

Speaking during the opening session of the forum on 7^th February 2023, Eng. Geoffrey Muli, Kenya Power Acting Managing Director noted that the company has invested in grid expansion and refurbishment to enable it to transition the country to the first phase of e-mobility. He went on to say that the grid network is stable enough to support the transition from fossil fuel-powered automobiles.

While addressing the conference, Eng. Mwangi focused on areas of collaboration between the private sector, the government and other stakeholders in promoting the growth of E-mobility in the country. He lauded the electricity distributor for coming up with a specific tariff for E-Mobility while adding that KEPSA was keen to offer support in policies and legislations that will promote e-mobility.

“The private sector, government and all key stakeholders in the sector also have a role in raising awareness and educating the public about the benefits of e-mobility and the importance of transitioning to a low-carbon transportation system,” Noted Eng. Mwangi.

Speakers in the forum called for stakeholders in the value chain of transportation to adequately engage in the process of enhancing infrastructural and other investments to support the new shift of utilizing clean energy.